Yes, please keep motorized Parks Department vehicles out of bike lanes, off of sidewalks and out of parks as much as possible.

On very rare occasions they’re absolutely necessary, as in the case of heavy construction. Often they’re doing something that could be done with a dolly, a wheelbarrow or even a backpack. Many times it’s just lazy Parks employees who don’t want to walk a few extra yards.

Sometimes the driver chooses to park on the sidewalk instead of blocking a car lane by double-parking, which shows some seriously messed-up priorities.

I don’t see a problem with Parks Department trucks driving slowly through a square or park, if it’s necessary – as it often is. SLOWLY. Making sure they are seen long before they get to people.

Now the thing here is proportionate size. A van driving on a bike lane may be ok, a huge truck through Central park may be ok. But a huge truck on a bike lane? NO WONDER THE DRIVER DIDN’T SEE THE WHEELCHAIR.

So, Parks Dep., if you must send a vehicle onto a restricted traffic area, mind the size of the vehicle in proportion to the size of us tiny little people down here, will ya?

How is this possible? Fired, loss of license permanently. End of story.

If Parks Department and other vehicles are going to use protected space they should be designed to have better visibility. Considering the size of that truck it’s not surprising that the driver might not be able to see someone in a wheelchair, a child on a bike, or a baby carriage directly in front of it.

Is it unreasonable to say that any vehicle used in pedestrian/parks space should allow the driver to see a three year old on a tricycle two or three feet in front of that vehicle?

If the City were to use vehicles with windshields more like those we see on busses these kinds of “accidents” might be avoided. Of course taking advantage of rear view cameras, object sensors and other modern technology would help improve safety as well.

A similar truck has been blocking the new Allen Street bicycle lane the past two mornings. It’s bad enough that they force people out into auto traffic that they have specifically followed a bicycle route to avoid, but if parks employees are going to occasionally “not see” and run over us (and they will–everyone makes mistakes), it’s absolutely critical that their large vehicles not be operated in these otherwise-safe spaces at all.

I regularly see these things (not to mention police and other miscellaneous vehicles) going 30+ m.p.h. through Prospect Park during the afternoon.

As a practical matter, its just too inefficient to collect garbage on foot, because receptacles are spread out and the amount collected quickly becomes more than can be easily moved by human power. In the Parks, it is the green-coveralled and white-trucked DSNY personnel that do the lion’s share of the garbage collection. Having those guys do collection without their trucks means adjusting contracts, extra pay, increasing the workforce, etc.–it’s just impractical. What is feasible is:

(1) no garbage trucks on bike paths like this–they take up 90% of the room and if someone is trying to pass and the truck starts up, it is almost impossible not to have a collision. Make them use the nearest traffic lane. These guys know how to move the cans by rolling them along on the bottom rim; moving the cans that extra 14 feet is not a hardship.

(2) in the parks, garbage trucks should be equipped these trucks with devices that make beepers sound for 5 seconds before the truck is about to move after it has been stopped for more than 30 seconds–whether the truck is moving forward and backwards.

As for non-garbage activities, Parks should phase out the golf carts and replace them with custom pedicabs with cargo room enough for tools and waste removal. Official vehicles in the parks aren’t support to go mroe than 15 MPH anyway, that’s within the range of a pedicab.

So heartbreaking and so infuriating.
Are we going to have to start lobbying for bollards that stop vehicles from entering protected bike lanes? I hope not.

The class 3 on-street bike lanes are intended for non-motorized vechicles. They were made just wide enough for exisiting city snow plows to traverse. No other vehicles, save emergency vehicles are authorized, end of story. The DPR driver took his chances and now must face the consequences, which we can reasonably assume will be insufficient to prevent a repeat of his risky behavior.

Thank you Gwin! I see wheelchairs buzzing around the street (usually NOT in a bike lane) all the time and think it’s crazy. Does anyone know the law regarding this? Are they allowed to be in the street?

According to NY1, the wheelchair tried to cross in front of the truck, thinking it was parked. The driver did not see the wheelchair and hit her.

http://ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/top_stories/108511/sanitation-truck-hits–injures-wheelchair-bound-woman/

Not sure how trash is supposed to be collected if the truck can’t pull up next to the curb.

The same way trash collectors deal with placarded vehicles left parked during trash pickup hours – they throw the bags of trash into the truck from the curb.

Sarah – while that is definitely true in some parts of the city (i.e. sidewalks lacking the cutouts necessary for a wheelchair to get up on them), Hudson Street/8th Avenue is certainly not an area inhospitable to wheelchairs — I used to live down there.

These are mobility scooters, not race cars.They help those that have trouble walking. They are not meant to be a mode of long distance transportation. Five MPH would be pretty fast if you bumped into someone while shopping at the mall.