Eyes on the Street: Summer Streets Gallery #1

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Reader Jen Petersen sends this shot of the intersection of Lafayette and Spring on Saturday, along with her observations of how pedestrians, cyclists, and everyone else shared the road during Summer Streets:

In the absence of special pavement markings delineating lanes for walkers, runners, cyclists, rollerbladers/skaters, people with children (and strollers), and others, we had to be responsible for our footprints. The burden of regulating our interactions and avoiding altercations was on us; NYPD was only keeping the current conflict-free where it met automobiles at transverse streets. And so it seems when we travel at more-or-less the same speed, and the journey is itself the destination, we somehow figure out how to use each other as signposts. Now if we could just figure this out on a workday, in all five boroughs…

More reader-submitted photos after the jump, and more to come tomorrow…

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Top photo of Park Avenue north of Grand Central: Philly Bike Coalition/Flickr
Bottom two photos: Jeff Prant

Taking a breather by the south facade of Grand Central. Photo: BicyclesOnly/Flickr

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Free bike rentals on Lafayette. Photo: Philly Bike Coalition/Flickr

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Puppy on board. Photo: cafrizell/Flickr

Thanks for adding your pics to Streetsblog’s Flickr pool — there’s more on the way!

  • I’ve always been pro jaywalking for this very reason. If drivers and riders and walkers have an expectation of a clear path and the right of way, they will act like it. I think this would explain how the managed chaos of some European streets works better for all concerned.

  • Braddy

    Summer Streets is already a brilliant success, and the next two Saturdays will be even bigger. Having experienced it, maybe even some of the businesses along the route will figure out how to make it work for them.

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