9 ms·

Gridlock has gotten far worse in NYC. Cars constantly pull into and block intersections and crosswalks.

by insickness 8y ago

addicted 8y ago
That doesn’t apply to Queens boulevard that is being discuses in the Article.
- insickness 8y ago
  It applies to general pedestrian safety in NYC. When cars block the crosswalk you often have to walk dangerously close to cars in the intersection to get around them. It didn't used to be this bad in NYC.
  - Sharlin 8y ago
    Of course it didn’t; there used to be less traffic! And the only solution is to reverse the trend of traffic growth—specifically, to reduce the average footprint of an individual traveler.
  - anthonybsd 8y ago
    It's been this bad in NYC since at least when I moved here (1997).
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    It was way worse. The the 80s NYC of my youth almost every aspect of traffic engineering was worse and more dangerous. You may not have observed cars blocking crosswalks because the crosswalks were missing.
    - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
      Crosswalks are present at every intersection whether painted or not.
      - Spooky23 8y ago
        Modern crosswalks, especially on avenues, usually push back where the car is supposed to stop 3-6 feet. Usually without markings, drivers will target (and overshoot) the curb cut. There's definately more "blocking the box" now, but IMO that's more about "smarter" traffic signals that are frequently broken or result in too short/long wait times.
- bogomipz 8y ago
  Vision Zero is city-wide initiative for pedestrian safety in NYC not just Queens Blvd.[1] And blocking cross-walks is very much an issue concerning pedestrian safety. So yes the OPs comment does very much apply to the article being discussed: [1] https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page
CaptainZapp 8y ago
Chalk it up to Uber and their ilk, which not only discourages people from using public transport, but also significantly adds trips, which wouldn't have happened otherwise.
- bogomipz 8y ago
  >"Chalk it up to Uber and their ilk, which not only discourages people from using public transport," The MTA actually does a pretty good job of discouraging people from taking the subway these days, probably more so than Uber. Maybe you haven't seen the news but the subway has been in throes of a crisis for more than a few years now [1]. While I would like to see less cars on the streets, its hard to make the argument that people shouldn't use car services when the alternative is regularly failing its'riders. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delays-failure.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delay...
dajohnson89 8y ago
As a pedestrian, am I allowed to yell at/curse cars that block the crosswalk?
- notyourday 8y ago
  That does not make you a pedestrian. That makes you a New Yorker.
JohnTHaller 8y ago
I've lived here for 22 years and it seems about the same to me as a pedestrian.
notyourday 8y ago
Hear, hear! The issue is a total lack of enforcement. One can recognize the older NYC drivers by their refusal to enter an intersection if they cannot be sure to clear it on green. It is because in the late nineties in Manhattan blocking the box was equivalent of doing 90mph in a 55 zone in front of a state trooper ( the only time one could get away with it if the said state trooper was already busy writing a ticket to someone else ) -- you would get the a $100-$500 dollar ticket and you would get points on the license. Not it barely happens even on the streets with SBS lanes and traffic cops. Let this sink in. $300 dollar and two points on a license for not clearing the box ( including crosswalks ) in 1996. It was when a spiffy dinner for two in NYC was about $80. If NYC were to deploy a 1000 cops to write these tickets for a month today there would be no congestion in three months as no one would want to risk thousands of dollars in tickets for the $10 they could make by trying to squeeze the cars into the yellow light -- and the ones that would risk it are sure to lose the cars and licenses quite quick.
- majos 8y ago
  So there's a nice pool of ticket revenue that, maybe, a majority of citizens want to see enforced. Anyone have an idea why it's not enforced?
  - adamson 8y ago
    They do enforce it. My office is on one of the major feeders to the Holland Tunnel (Broome/Watts Street), so it gets extremely congested everyday from 4 to 6. Every light cycle, several cars block the box, and a small team of traffic cops sprints out from their hiding spot around the corner, ready to write tickets. I think it's just a matter of scaling that tactic out to other intersections where traffic comes to a complete stop for twenty seconds at a time, allowing cops to give and explain tickets in the intersection without disrupting the flow of traffic.
- o_____________o 8y ago
  Please add honking to that list, it's out of control in lower Manhattan.
bogomipz 8y ago
This is particularly egregious as it forces pedestrians out into oncoming traffic to cross. Sadly this also seems to be the new normal.

Gridlock has gotten far worse in NYC. Cars constantly pull into and block intersections and crosswalks.

addicted 8y ago

That doesn’t apply to Queens boulevard that is being discuses in the Article.

insickness 8y ago
It applies to general pedestrian safety in NYC. When cars block the crosswalk you often have to walk dangerously close to cars in the intersection to get around them. It didn't used to be this bad in NYC.
- Sharlin 8y ago
  Of course it didn’t; there used to be less traffic! And the only solution is to reverse the trend of traffic growth—specifically, to reduce the average footprint of an individual traveler.
- anthonybsd 8y ago
  It's been this bad in NYC since at least when I moved here (1997).
- Spooky23 8y ago
  It was way worse. The the 80s NYC of my youth almost every aspect of traffic engineering was worse and more dangerous. You may not have observed cars blocking crosswalks because the crosswalks were missing.
  - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
    Crosswalks are present at every intersection whether painted or not.
    - Spooky23 8y ago
      Modern crosswalks, especially on avenues, usually push back where the car is supposed to stop 3-6 feet. Usually without markings, drivers will target (and overshoot) the curb cut. There's definately more "blocking the box" now, but IMO that's more about "smarter" traffic signals that are frequently broken or result in too short/long wait times.
bogomipz 8y ago
Vision Zero is city-wide initiative for pedestrian safety in NYC not just Queens Blvd.[1] And blocking cross-walks is very much an issue concerning pedestrian safety. So yes the OPs comment does very much apply to the article being discussed: [1] https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page

CaptainZapp 8y ago

Chalk it up to Uber and their ilk, which not only discourages people from using public transport, but also significantly adds trips, which wouldn't have happened otherwise.

bogomipz 8y ago
>"Chalk it up to Uber and their ilk, which not only discourages people from using public transport," The MTA actually does a pretty good job of discouraging people from taking the subway these days, probably more so than Uber. Maybe you haven't seen the news but the subway has been in throes of a crisis for more than a few years now [1]. While I would like to see less cars on the streets, its hard to make the argument that people shouldn't use car services when the alternative is regularly failing its'riders. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delays-failure.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delay...

dajohnson89 8y ago

As a pedestrian, am I allowed to yell at/curse cars that block the crosswalk?

notyourday 8y ago
That does not make you a pedestrian. That makes you a New Yorker.

JohnTHaller 8y ago

I've lived here for 22 years and it seems about the same to me as a pedestrian.

notyourday 8y ago

Hear, hear! The issue is a total lack of enforcement. One can recognize the older NYC drivers by their refusal to enter an intersection if they cannot be sure to clear it on green. It is because in the late nineties in Manhattan blocking the box was equivalent of doing 90mph in a 55 zone in front of a state trooper ( the only time one could get away with it if the said state trooper was already busy writing a ticket to someone else ) -- you would get the a $100-$500 dollar ticket and you would get points on the license. Not it barely happens even on the streets with SBS lanes and traffic cops. Let this sink in. $300 dollar and two points on a license for not clearing the box ( including crosswalks ) in 1996. It was when a spiffy dinner for two in NYC was about $80. If NYC were to deploy a 1000 cops to write these tickets for a month today there would be no congestion in three months as no one would want to risk thousands of dollars in tickets for the $10 they could make by trying to squeeze the cars into the yellow light -- and the ones that would risk it are sure to lose the cars and licenses quite quick.

majos 8y ago
So there's a nice pool of ticket revenue that, maybe, a majority of citizens want to see enforced. Anyone have an idea why it's not enforced?
- adamson 8y ago
  They do enforce it. My office is on one of the major feeders to the Holland Tunnel (Broome/Watts Street), so it gets extremely congested everyday from 4 to 6. Every light cycle, several cars block the box, and a small team of traffic cops sprints out from their hiding spot around the corner, ready to write tickets. I think it's just a matter of scaling that tactic out to other intersections where traffic comes to a complete stop for twenty seconds at a time, allowing cops to give and explain tickets in the intersection without disrupting the flow of traffic.
o_____________o 8y ago
Please add honking to that list, it's out of control in lower Manhattan.

bogomipz 8y ago

This is particularly egregious as it forces pedestrians out into oncoming traffic to cross. Sadly this also seems to be the new normal.