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After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

nytimes.com

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Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#111

Post by CydeWeys »

120photo wrote: post #77
nickles wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact that they have outlawed and happily tweet about confiscating e-bikes is digusting. NYC has a long ways to go. e-bikes have been legal in NYC for 1.5 years [0] [0] https://mashable.com/2018/04/04/electric-bicycle-nyc-ban-end...

Also many electric bike riders don't take the extra power into consideration when they speed down those bike lanes. I overheard a conversation at the office recently where the topic was the number of bike deaths this year (I work/live in Manhattan) and they did point out that many of those might actually be electric bike riders.

They're not. You can find the full details on each and every cyclist fatality in the city from news reports and such, and e-bikes are a small minority of deaths.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#112

Post by tombert »

OutsmartDan wrote: post #62

As an avid cyclist in NYC, this is a huge step forward into cyclist protection. I can't tell you how many times i've almost been hit, or doored, by a car. Sometimes, it's a lot safer to run a red light to get in front of a car versus waiting for the light to turn- but of course that's not legal. Honestly, as huge and condensed NYC is, I am surprised this hasn't happened years ago. It's much, much more efficient to ge…

My biggest pet peeve is when cops treat the bike lane as additional parking. I've seen cops do it just to walk into 7-eleven and buy a snack.

I wonder if that will be addressed at some point.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#113

Post by neves »

runarberg wrote: post #34
unlinked_dll wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not to go all "blame the victim" here, but one thing I noticed culturally in NYC is that traffic lights are a suggestion to pedestrians. If there isn't a car directly in front of them, they'll cross the street. Compare to LA, where people tend to wait for the signal to cross pretty consistently. That said, LA still has horrible pedestrian death statistics so who knows how much that matters.

If people don’t follow traffic signals it is the fault of the signals. That is, if everybody makes the same mistake, it is no individuals fault, but a fault in the system. To give a more concrete example. Say a traffic light has a pedestrian light attached. It will only allow pedestrian crossings when it does not stop the flow of vehicular traffic (say every 3-5 min, and only for 20 seconds at a time). But it does so…

Crosswalks are the sign. Pedestrians have preference and almost all the world cars must stop when there is a pedestrian in a crosswalk. There are places where people doesn't even take the eyes from their phone while stepping in a crosswalk.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#114

Post by CydeWeys »

de_Selby wrote: post #64
schrodinger wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I like about the newer NYC bike lanes is they put them inside of parked cars. It means you’re generally protected from traffic by a row of parked cars. And there’s a large enough buffer that you don’t have to worry about getting hit by an open door.

How does that work if the cyclist is going straight and cars are turning across them (e.g. Making a right turn). Does it not make it harder for the traffic to see the cyclist?

Some (but not nearly enough) intersections have split-phase rights, with a green bike light and a red vehicle turn arrow at the start of the light cycle, which then changes to a red bike light and green vehicle turn arrow towards the end of the light cycle.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#115

Post by CydeWeys »

trenning wrote: post #44

Don't get your hopes up, Uber drivers will still find a way to block the bike lanes.

My main issue recently has been with delivery trucks. They're bigger (thus block the bike lane completely), and they tend to be in the bike lane for a much longer period of time than FHVs/taxis.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#116

Post by CydeWeys »

aqme28 wrote: post #47

I doubt it. > To gain Mr. de Blasio’s support, Mr. Johnson’s office agreed to push back the start date for the first streets plan, from this month to December 2021, around the time the next mayor takes office. Until then, the city will keep its current commitment to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes each year.

Yup. de Blasio clearly doesn't care about this because he's not even doing it during his term. And it could all easily be canceled and not ever happen depending on who the next mayor ends up being (I'm pulling for Corey Johnson personally).

This news isn't nearly as good as it appears at first blush; de Blasio is completely abdicating his duty.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#117

Post by CydeWeys »

schrodinger wrote: post #30
amalcon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American drivers (especially in places like New York) generally just ignore 20MPH speed limits (~=30km/h).

In my experience, cars actually go pretty slow in NY (Manhattan at least), even when there’s not a lot of traffic. I’m usually able to easily keep up with traffic on my bike.

This is definitely not true on the multi-lane avenues. You're thinking of the single-lane streets.

One good solution for the avenues would be to time their rolling green waves for an average of 15 mph. They just recently started doing this in Brooklyn on a particularly dangerous road.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#118

Post by CydeWeys »

msoad wrote: post #72

If you don't live in NYC you should know that a lot of bicycles in NYC are delivery guys riding electrified bicycles that go up to 20MpH. Many of them don't wear helmets and ride dangerously. I don't have anything to back this tip but the raise of deaths can be linked to raise of electric bicycles

Negative, the good majority of the deaths are not people on e-bikes.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#119

Post by CydeWeys »

beart wrote: post #68
eatbitseveryday wrote: post #4

Why do deaths have to be the trigger to prioritize safety? Examples: Boeing, this article, and a recent HN post [0], etc. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21374525

Cynical view - Deaths are never a trigger to prioritize safety. Liability is. Ask the lawyers.

Deaths are a huge political liability even if they weren't a financial one, and would still effect change. I'm part of Transportation Alternatives, who has been advocating/lobbying/protesting very effectively for increased safety infrastructure in the wake of all these cyclist deaths. No financial liabilities involved.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#120

Post by CydeWeys »

wefarrell wrote: post #59
pwthornton wrote: post #5

This is big time for America. If our biggest city can’t show leadership on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, we can’t expect any other city to as well. New York is really lagging behind where it should be. Despite being by far the biggest American city, it is overrun with cars. Protected bike lanes, street improvements to make crossing the street safer, and dedicated bus lanes will improve the city for all New Yorkers…

I commute on my bike in NYC daily and I am far more terrified of pedestrians and other cyclists than I am of cars. Cars for the most part pay attention and obey traffic rules. Cyclists less so and pedestrians ignore rules entirely and frequently aren't even aware of cyclists.

I've had several minor scraps with other cyclists, and some close calls with pedestrians. The injuries involved were so minor it's not even worth cataloguing them.

Cyclists are routinely killed by motor vehicles in NYC. It's not even close which one you should be more afraid of. The scariest thing in the world if you're a cyclist is a big truck. They are statistically most likely to kill cyclists. People on foot don't even come close.

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