Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Traffic Calming Project - Empire Blvd from Utica to Flatbush Avenues

The Empire Blvd Traffic Calming project will be presented at the Community Board meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

If you cannot attend the mtg next Tuesday, we encourage you to share your comments, ideas and suggestions to improve pedestrian/traffic safety on Empire Blvd.

Comments can include: accessibility (ADA compliance), landscaping, bicycle safety, lighting, etc.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Pearl, for the blog site. I have my reservations about the "calming" approach, because it appears analagous to someone who wanted to bang a nail with a sledgehammer , missed the nail and lost a finger. The issue began in earnest when one of those pro-bike-anti-car groups cited the citywide increase in car accidents as an excuse to implement its agenda. Because, sadly enough, Empire Boulevard, like Eastern Parkway, are consistantly the major accident-prone spots, that group wanted it picked as its guinea pig. Beyond this, however, their anti-car solution and its synthesis-driven goal, the British-style discouragement of car traffic on certain blocks and their redeployment on others has nothing to do with solving this matter. When you buy the city-style calming plan, you get a pig in a pokey. More germane to the solution would be a fresh view from the pedestrian's perspecive. When you cross a street illegally (against a red light), you habitually check out the oncoming cars, and, seeing few nearby, you venture out, at your own (great) risk. But, first, you take a quick glimpse at the traffic lights in front of the approaching cars, hoping that they will be red, so that the cars will stop. What you don't know about NYC signal lights is that it may be red from your viewpoint (and thus, "safe to cross") but to the approaching car 180 degrees around the light, he sees a green. Because you think he sees the red, you cross, and become a victim. In reality, that red light that you saw was not meant for the approaching cars coming towards you, but for the cars on the opposite side of the street, because of the staggered light system. Eastern Parkway is a case in point. You are crossing from the bank on Kingston and Eastern, towards the synagogue; the light is red about 80% of the time and you have to run if you follow the laws. So you jaywalk. But before you do, you look to your left, and, seeing no ccars nearby, you check out the lights by looking to your left; when you see that that light is red (even though your own light says don't walk), you start walking. That red light is meant for cars going eastbound, but for the westbound cars, the light is still green. Because you don't see the green light facing the westbound cars, you make the assumption that if the light is red for eastbound cars is red, then the light for eastbound cars is also red. Big mistake! Big problem number 2 concerns slow crossers walking from the northeastern corner of Kingston and Eastern , towards the Jewish Children's Museum. Often, these (mostly elderly) get stuck on the striped-line divider halfway across the street. Assuming that because you are walking on a striped "no car" ground, you don't realize that the cars don't see the stripes, especially when they are focused on turning from the center lane on Eastern parkway eastbound, towards Kingston Ave northbound. So you become a victim. So, why should we implement this kit and caboodle that includes that dreaded Kingston bike lane in the details, when a little stagering of some lights and some equitability in East-west vs north-south lights would solve these problems and save lives with no controversy. But what do i know? Tnanks again! G-d bless. Yours, Stuart Balberg

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