Eyes on the Street

Ian Dutton of the Houston Street bike safety initiative snapped these photographs of yet another never-before-seen street design feature here in New York City. This is what's called a "Bike Box" at the  intersection of W. 9th St. and Sixth Ave. Bike boxes allow cyclists approaching the intersection with a red signal to position themselves at the front of the line of vehicles. This makes bike travel faster and the right turn onto northbound Sixth Avenue safer.

The Shuttle, as seen from Brevoort Place.

This was the scene along the Edward L. Grant Highway in the Bronx on May 27, where the southbound buffered bike lane near Jerome Avenue was being blocked by SUVs from Florida and New Jersey and assorted other vehicles. The bike lane markings here are worn out by the constant wear and tear of automobile tires. A complete lack of enforcement makes this bike lane inadequate for cycling and a great benefit for auto mechanics and double-parkers.

East 146th Street and St. Ann's Avenue, May 28, 2007.

 The NYC Transit Pipe and Drums Corps marched in the Inwood annual Memorial Day Parade on Monday, on a route that followed Broadway from 200th Street almost into the Bronx before taking Seaman Avenue, where the above photo was taken, to Inwood Hill Park for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring America's war dead.

Happy Memorial Day weekend from Streetsblog. If you're driving out of town, consider paying down your carbon debt with a solar-powered barbecue -- just make sure to wear sunscreen while you're using it. See you Tuesday

This striking color photograph was snapped on Broome Street near Baruch Place (a street that vanished beneath the Bernard Baruch housing project) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, September 27, 1941. The photo is part of the Charles W. Cushman collection at Indiana University. A tip of the hat to Kevin Walsh's outstanding Forgotten New York web site for pointing this out.