Today’s Headlines

  • MTA Service Finally Heading in Right Direction (NYT, News, Post, WSJ)
  • CNU’s John Norquist on the Sheridan: “Mr. Mayor, Tear Down This Expressway” (News)
  • Sunset Park Rail Yard Reopens, With Big Hopes For Freight Revival (NYT)
  • Two Drivers Kill Cyclists in Separate Hit-And-Runs (News)
  • Driver Caught, Charged With Manslaughter and DWI for Killing Sunnyside Cyclist (DNAinfo)
  • Rockland County Legislature Chair Tells Cuomo to Commit to Tappan Zee Transit (LoHud)
  • Queens Community Boards to US Tennis Association: Parking Doesn’t Belong in Parks (News)
  • Video: Cyclist Tells Cop to Stop Blocking Ocean Parkway Bike Lane, Gets Retaliatory Ticket (News)
  • Community Board Approves Ped Plazas For Glendale And Ridgewood, Turns to Details (QChron)
  • Megabus Moves Three Avenues West, Away from Port Authority (DNAinf0)

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

  • Ian Turner

    Assuming the ALJ decides reasonably, that retaliatory ticket will probably not work out well for the officer involved. My understanding is that since the ticket fixing scandal, there have been more consequences for officers whose traffic tickets get thrown out.

  • Anonymous

    It’s hard to imagine how that story about Roger Hernandez could possibly be more tragic.

    And when will someone finally run the numbers and show beyond a doubt that the victims of these sorts of crimes are disproportionately minorities? There’s no question in my mind that it’s true.

    Not that this would spur any action either. But maybe it would bring home to a small group of people that people who ride bikes don’t fall neatly into one of two categories: Spandex Racers and Hipster Fixie Clones.

  • Guest

    It’s easy to write off people like John Norquist when they start with such obviously flawed logic.

    Either the highway has very light traffic, or it contributes to asthma rates.  It cannot do both.  Together his statements require us to believe that a lack of traffic contributes to asthma, which is nonsensical on its face.

    I would be more impressed if there were any evidence at all that he was putting in any effort to understand the issues and local conditions to propose solutions that would actually help the local community, rather than pushing for a generic solution that validates and enhances his own personal political legacy.

  • Other Guest

    The Sheridan sees 35,000 cars per day. That’s “light” by the standards of other roads and traffic, but heavy by the standards of people’s lungs.  There’s nothing flawed in that logic.

  • carma

    omg.  i just saw that video of unfair ticket.  an outright LIE from the officer as the evidence clearly shows the cyclists did nothing wrong.  Even the so called “confrontation” Move back remark is not offensive, but clearly just a reaction of stop blocking the road.

    I use OP bike lane often, and so often i see cars turning and blocking the crosswalk, that i am starting to hate this so called bike path.

  • carma

    while i generally give cops credit, its actions like the blatant lies like this that warrants an officer not to be reprimanded but absolutely FIRED.  it shows no integrity for the police force that should represent NYC.

  • Hilda

    Still recommend that Ben the cyclist talk to a bike friendly lawyer. Stating the wrong reason to dismiss the ticket could backfire, even with the video.

  • Driver

    The Sheridan carries “only” 35,000 CARS per day.  It would be helpful to know how many trucks it carries as well. 
    Peter King, planning and development supervisor for the NYSDOT claims the expressway carries about 45,000 VEHICLES per day.  And where does the claim that the expressway is near the end of it’s engineered life come from?  It sounds like someone is ignoring the fact the Sheridan was rebuilt from 2001 to 2005. 

  • Yikes

    Completely false testimony against me from a cop in traffic court made me think I need to start filming all my biking and driving… I’ll bet this officer won’t show for that court date if he knows the video exists and is public.

  • kevd

    I was going to say that the cyclist, Ben Kopciel, didn’t have much to complain about TO the cops, because the problem with the Ocean Parkway bikelane is one of design, not the actions of drivers. There is no other place for them to wait if they are turning from the service road. But, he didn’t!
    He just said “move back” – as if he didn’t even expect the cop to hear him.

    Nice stabilization software, too.
    I wonder what it was….

  • Anonymous

    Why do New York City cops act so thin-skinned?  It’s really inappropriate for a place like this.  I’m not saying that they or anyone should tolerate abuse.  But I’ve seen two different cops cite being “disrespected” as reason for them to act angry and threatening–and in my opinion, both incidences of supposed “disrespect” were seriously, seriously, non-offensive.  Both cops’ response seemed to me to be disproportionate (to put it politely).  I didn’t hear the word “disrespect” in this Ocean Parkway video, but I’m inclined to put it in the same category as the two incidents I refer to above.

  • Guest

    @9b67f5811cecd0211cb8e8cd8bfdb974:disqus you make much more sense than Norquist… but there is still no plausible argument that removing the Sheridan would or in any way could improve air quality.

    How does putting a lot of truck trips to the market on a slower, longer route help air quality?

    How many people live within 100 feet of the Bruckner, where the trucks are supposed to be rerouted?  How many live within 100 feet of the Sheridan?  Why shift more pollution where the impact is already greatest?

    How does removing the secondary route avoid a lot of trucks idling in Hunts Point and diverting through neighborhood streets when the Bruckner routinely backs up?  What are the air quality impacts of those trucks idling in traffic where people actually live, instead of driving on the Sheridan where they’re removed from the residents?

    Is there some assumption that enough auto trips would be discouraged to compensate for the worse truck conditions?  Nobody is articulating that point… and the advocates have consistently stated that the travel time penalties for drivers would be minimal (therefore they are unlikely to stop driving) and the analysis that has been performed with the BPM’s mode-choice modeling has indicated no such decreases.

    There is simply no remotely plausible case that has ever been made to support any air quality improvement from this scheme.  Every indication is that its only possible effects would be negative.

  • Anonymous

    Here’s what I don’t get about the arguments for the Sheridan teardown:  Cars and trucks going to the area immediately in and around the highway are still going to go there, they’ll just have to do it on surface roads.  And because it’s a short highway, through traffic that isn’t going to use surface roads will just detour to other highways a couple of miles away, whether it’s the Deegan or the Bronx River Parkway.  Tearing down the Sheridan isn’t going to eliminate that traffic (especially the traffic to the Hunts Point market), it’s just going to move it to different roads.  So how does the different routing cut down on asthma?  I think it’s important to improve the air quality in the South Bronx, I just don’t buy the argument that this will actually accomplish it.

    (Personally, I think the fact that the Sheridan cuts neighborhood residents off from the Bronx River waterfront unnecessarily, without benefiting too many people as indicated by the low traffic on the Sheridan, is enough of a reason not to have it there.)

  • fj

  • I thought the weekly carnage count was supposed to be coming back Streetsblog? What happened?

  • Anonymous

    @facebook-523311334:disqus : I saw the street carnage report yesterday at 
    http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/07/20/street-carnage/ . But now it’s gone!

  • fj

    The list below will likely be updated to include legacy urban massive transit systems just like it includes the current electrical grid.  Do try and focus that the NYC subway system was nearly knocked out for a month by Hurricane Irene’s surge if it had been one foot more.

    Top Ten Impacts Climate Change Is Making Right Now
    ”
    http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/07/553551/ten-impacts-climate-change-is-worsening-climate-right-now/
    “

  • Haha87

    lets go yankees