I wrote a little while ago, about the bike lane that was being put in on Prospect Park West. Though it had the support of the Community Board and many others, it was notably opposed by (sarcastic surprise), Borough Buffoon President, Marty Markowitz, and Giuliani’s old transportation commissioner, Iris Weinshall.
Well, the lane is in, and it is great. Not only is it providing protection for cyclists, just as importantly, it is calming traffic on a street that is full of moms and kids on their way to/from the park, but has been until now, a notorious speedway.
These stats were gathered by Park Slope Neighbors on Prospect Park West.
| March 2010 | July 2010 | % Change | |
| Average Speed | 36.6 mph | 27.6 mph | -24.7% (-9.0 mph) |
| Median Speed | 37.0 mph | 28.0 mph | -24.3% (-9.0 mph) |
| 30 mph or less* | 14.7% | 75.0% | +409% |
| 40 mph or above | 29.9% | 1.4% | -95% |
| Sample Size | 251 vehicles | 352 vehicles |
* The speed limit on PPW is 30 miles per hour.
While there is only a 5% chance of a person dying when hit by a car at 20 mph, it is 45% at 30 mph, and 85% at 40.
Weinshall has been notably silent since the lane went in, but she’s smarter than Markowitz.
Markowitz, idiotically spluttered,
“Double-parking is still commonplace and the result is more noise from car-honking, more pollution from traffic jams and more frustration to residents and visitors alike,”
As Ben Fried, from Streetsblog, noted,
“Let’s just appreciate this line of thought for a moment: Motorists double-park and spew fumes, so let's go back to the bad old days when they could double-park, spew fumes, and speed unchecked.”
And as Charles Komanoff commented,
* Speeding (driving in excess of 30 mph) is down 71% (calculated by comparing 25.0% of vehicles speeding "after" with 85.3% speeding “before”).
* “Gross speeding” (driving 40 mph or above) is down 95%, as shown.
In other words, installing the bike lane has eliminated 7 of every 10 speeding violations and 19 of every 20 gross speeding violations.
If this isn’t revolutionary, I don't know what is.
A lot of people are mad at bike lanes? Why? Shouldn't we be mad that we have been created to buy cars and commute to work in them, while destroying our planet?
Posted by: sportsbook | February 03, 2012 at 06:18 PM
Don't get surprised, more road space for the cars mean good news for the car companies. But we really can't tell if these companies do have a direct hand at the opposition. It's just something to think about.
Posted by: Liesel Basil | September 09, 2011 at 01:36 PM