Upper East Side

At a meeting hosted by the Manhattan Community Board 8 transportation committee last night, DOT unveiled a map showing 39 planned Citi Bike station locations on the Upper East Side [PDF]. The city said it expects service to be operating as far north as 86th Street by late summer or early fall, with further expansion next year.

It looks like some parts of Manhattan north of 59th Street could be getting Citi Bike sooner than previously expected.

Bus bulbs are sidewalk extensions at bus stops that enable passengers to board without the driver pulling in and out of traffic. They save transit riders time, shorten crossing distances for pedestrians, and keep sidewalks from getting cluttered by bus stop furniture. Who could be against that?

Motorists struck four pedestrians in two crashes in Manhattan and the Bronx over the weekend, killing two victims. One driver in the Bronx was charged with leaving the scene and reckless driving, while another remains at large. The Manhattan motorist, operating a vehicle with TLC plates, was ticketed for driving without a license, though NYPD blamed the victims in the press. The drivers were not charged for causing death and injury by NYPD or district attorneys Cy Vance and Robert Johnson.

A senior struck by an allegedly unlicensed motorist in an Upper East Side crosswalk this September has died from her injuries, according to NYPD's monthly traffic crash report and WNYC's Mean Streets project. Though the driver was ticketed for failure to yield, he was not charged under the new Vision Zero law that makes it a crime for motorists to harm pedestrians who have the right of way.

The Upper East Side is full of dangerous intersections, and residents are clamoring for bus countdown clocks, benches, and bike racks, according to a two-part report released today by Council Member Ben Kallos [PDF 1, 2]. It's not often a council member releases a report on livable streets, and Kallos should be commended for his interest. (DOT says it "has not received any similar reports from other elected officials.") But the report amounts to a wish list of small fixes, with nary a recommendation to improve street design and enforcement in the neighborhood.

NYPD has not filed charges against a cab driver who killed a pedestrian on the Upper East Side last week, despite indications that the crash may warrant a misdemeanor charge under a new city law.

Last September, 16-year-old Renee Thompson was struck and killed by a turning truck driver at the intersection of Third Avenue and 60th Street. Now, the crowded intersection has painted curb extensions on two of the intersection's four corners that shorten crossing distances and tighten turns.

Motorists have killed two pedestrians in the 19th Precinct, on the Upper East Side, in the last month. The second victim was a woman hit by a school bus driver yesterday.