Friday, June 30, 2006 My Two Cents about New York Bike Safety Improvements
Several cyclists have died on New York City streets in the past few weeks. To contribute positively to the public debate about bike safey and infrastructure in New York, here are some ideas. I commute to work on my bike from Fort Greene, Brooklyn to Penn Station most days, and there are a few things I've noticed.
1. Signs that say "Share The Road" would increase drivers' awareness of bicycles. Cars always honk when I'm in a lane because they don't know the law. If the road is unsafe, I can take up a lane. This happens all the time when navigating around double parked cars. Simple signs posted around the city might remind drivers that bicycles have a right to be on the road.
2. "Watch For Bicycles" signs at heavy bicycle crossings. At the exit of the Manhattan bridge bike path on the Manhattan side, the bike path leads to a pedestrian-heavy intersection at the end of the greenmarket throroughfare. Cyclists are flying downhill, and peds can't see around the wall. While I haven't seen it happen, I would imagine that there are collisions and near-misses here all the time. A simple sign that says "Watch for Bicycles" on the Greenmarket side and a sign that says, "Slow Down: Pedestrian Crossing" on the bike side would help. This is an easy solution for many dangerous intersections throughout the city.
3. Bike lane buffer. I would just like to say that I LOVE the 8th avenue bike lane. Until this was painted, I was taking 6th avenue and hating life. Now I ride up Hudson to 8th avenue and enjoy my cruise to work. The best part about the lane is the buffer zone of about 8 feet between the bike lane and the far left lane of traffic. No matter how much we bitch, cars will double park. Parking is so limited that it's inevitable. The buffer zone gives cyclists some room to maneuver around double parked cars. This isn't feasible on narrow streets, but on big avenues it makes a big difference. I think there is something similar on 2nd avenue, and I definitely feel much safer biking on these streets.
4. Any cyclist who rides at night without lights is a moron. Buy some blinky lights you fools! They are not just for ravers anymore.
5. Any cyclist who complains about pedestrian traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge is a first-rate dickwad. TAKE THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE YOU JACKASS. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the biggest tourist attractions around, and tourists by definition are blind and unaware. The Manhattan bridge bike path is empty at all hours - much safer, much easier.
My condolences to the families of the cyclists who have died recently.
Key Words: Donna Goodson, Dr. Carl Nacht, Derek Lake, New York City bicycling, Transportation Alternatives, Transalt.org, Critical Mass, bike lanes, helmet, Houston, Bloomberg, take control of streets, cycling, bicycling, biking 9:14 AM
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 Evolution of Dance
This video had me rollin'!
FYI: Since I've discovered StumbleUpon, an extension for Firefox, I can't help but blog about stupid crap. StumbleUpon has reinvigorated my interest in blogging, but this blog will likely resemble stupid e-mail forwards for the next several weeks. Hey, I gotta keep myself entertained in between wedding chores! 6:51 PM
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 My new favorite website: Pandora.com
In the myth of Pandora's box, Pandora falls victim to her curiosity and opens her box, a gift from Zeus, which unleashes plague, sorrow, poverty, crime, despair, and greed upon mankind. Thankfully, after another visit the box she releases hope - hope for mankind to cling to in times of evil.
Pandora.com has restored my hope in the internet. This is one of those websites you stumble across once a month and proclaim: This is so much better than Rants and Raves!
Pandora Internet Radio is powered by the Music Genome Project. It is simple to use. You just enter the name of an artist or song, and the Pandora player creates a radio station of songs and artists that are similar. You can learn about the new artists on the playlist, you can rate songs with a thumbs up or down to modify future selections, and you can skip up to five songs in an hour. It's free, and you can create up to 100 playlists.
Just try it and bring a little hope into your life.
The following searches have brought people to this site:
rottweiler bondage gear
homemade film on blowing up a deer with fireworks
corrections facilities near yankee stadium
goy.sex.com
pictures of christian black men working together
