Northeast - Summer Streets, '09

Did anyone check out Summer Streets, 2008? Excited about '09?

.....? link? or info? please?

http://www.nyc.gov/summerstreets

Stacy beat me to it. Sorry for not having provided any information, initially. If you don't feel like clicking on the link (I don't know why you might not, but...), Summer Streets will be an exercise in which New York will close off a section of Park Avenue to motor traffic — this will occur on three Saturdays in August, 2009 — I believe the idea was first practiced last year, in 2008.

Thoroughly LOVED Summer Streets 2008. It was what got me interested in riding again since childhood. LOVED how they closed off so many streets and how they had gym classes, performances, and free drinks along the route. Best to play early in the morning before the crowds start accumulating. I remember by the last week of Summer Streets 2008, there was already a huge crowd early in morning too.

Hoping weather will be excellent for Summer streets 2009 too and I hope to attend all 3 weeks :)

It was thoroughly enjoyable last year both as a pedestrian and as a cyclist. My only complain is that some cyclists were going way too fast, especially around the crowded Union Sq area.

Going to be out there at 7am. Can't wait, wanted to ride this last year but never got my act together. Bought my GF a bike this year and she's pretty excited about this too.

Thoroughly LOVED Summer Streets 2008. It was what got me interested in riding again since childhood.


Bought my GF a bike this year and she's pretty excited about this too.

This is what it's all about!:)

I made a few of them last year, they were wonderful. Can only make one week this year, alas. (8/22)

I like to think that the city is throwing me a bike party for my birthday, lol. (August 8th) I'm definitely going as long as the weather holds out. :D

I'll be there this Sunday too. KitN! shout me out and I'll buy you a b'day cupcake for your b'day. How old are you gonna be? 18?

Best part is you don't have to own a bike because there's free bike share!

Last year I enjoyed it much more than I expected so I'm really looking forward to it this time around.

Best part is you don't have to own a bike because there's free bike share!

true dat - and even walking around is fun. I stopped and stood over my bike every now and then in the middle of Park Avenue - nice to do that with no cars in sight!:)

What do you mean about not having to own a bike? Are there free rentals?

I'll be there this Sunday too. KitN! shout me out and I'll buy you a b'day cupcake for your b'day. How old are you gonna be? 18?

It's this Saturday (not Sunday), August 8th and so is the first Summer Streets day. :D

My age? 187. :D :D

Saturday? Even better! I'll try to get out there earlier this year so I can do more than just roll down and back traffic free. Like maybe stop and do stuff.

It got really popular at the end last year.
at route end in City Hall it was filled with people, people talking about what to do next?
brunch? meet friends?
no free helmets this year though.

What do you mean about not having to own a bike? Are there free rentals?

Yes!!!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/2758305611_081f18c59e.jpg

Bad news: Chance of rain on Saturday...
Good news: ...rain due in the afternoon.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/10021?from=weekend_topnav_undeclared

you should go anyway - just hop on the subway if it pours. Or wait it out with everyone under shelter.

My favorite part last year was talking to random people as we rode along. so civilized!:)

We should put together a BF Summer Streets Group and ride together. How about it? Who's going tomorrow? (Also, list the time you plan to attend.)

1. KitN (7 AM - 1PM)
2. ??

great idea KitN - I'll check back here for the 22nd.....

true dat - and even walking around is fun. I stopped and stood over my bike every now and then in the middle of Park Avenue - nice to do that with no cars in sight!:)

I enjoyed stopping infront of the south side of grand central, preferably in perfect picture stand of the met life building lol. And yes, going through the curvy tunnel on the north side of grand central is quite fun!

I'm skipping this saturday's opening of summer streets for a long island oyster bay group ride, however, I will next saturday when my friends from Vancouver are in town!

Hope everyone has a great time and enjoy's! If only we could have a city summer streets on the west side highway from 125 to battery park! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Just to follow up...good news, everybody!

http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/10021?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

No rain!

My GF and I will hopefully be out there, if not on bikes then just hoofing it. Walking down Park Ave was quite a treat last year! The trees and plants on the medians are gorgeous.

I slept in. I'm heading to Summer Streets now. I'm starting from downtown making my way up. If you see a girl in a light blue billowy top, all legs, a ponytail, shiny brown heels, on a cream colored vintage Schwinn with a silver basket up front, that be me! Come on over and say "Hi"! :D

That was fun!

Tunes provided courtesy of this woman:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/3802154980_af7d940545.jpg

That was fun!

Yes indeed. :thumb:

Tunes provided courtesy of this woman:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/3802154980_af7d940545.jpg

Nice picture. :)

I loved that tunes chick. I was sad when I lost her somewhere along the way...

Yeah, I think she made a U-turn after going through the tunnel. After her, we rode past the other boom box bike.

And now, Bollywood!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He5QwL_yt6s

And now, Bollywood!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He5QwL_yt6s

Haha! Did you make make that video?

I totally am going to do it next week. :thumb:

Tunes provided courtesy of this woman:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/3802154980_af7d940545.jpg

I think that's Barbara Ross riding the Times Up sound bike.

Yup, I took it w/ my camera. Now you can practice for next week!

I had such a great time this morning!!!!!!! Got there pretty early, 8:30 or so. Wasn't crowded as I expected it to be. Can't wait for next Sat., hope the weather is just as good.

I didn't realize it ended at 2. At least I got a ride in. CP was just a zoo when I got there and I felt I had a better chance of actually riding hard back in Prospect Park so I headed back there. Overall I did 35 miles.

Saw more accidents today than last week, mostly collisions due to inattentiveness or over aggressiveness. Also witnessed some aggro riders cutting off peds. Seriously? You wanna ride fast, go ride in regular traffic. Summer streets isn't the place for that BS.

I just got back a little while ago. This week my wife and I went. We parked downtown and road up to and around Central Park then went for pasties in Little Italy. It seemed more crowded this week. Last Saturday I went with my teenage daughter and her friend. A great time was had by all. I may take the rest of the family next week.

I wasn't there last week but I thought it seemed less crowded, less intense, than last year, which is probably the way it should be. I also thought things seemed to go a bit smoother and more organized - like the City is beginning to get the routine down. The streets were easily divided for bikes and peds, and the cops actually kept the streets open a bit longer for people to get back downtown. None of that "all bikes on the sidewalk" nonsense like we had last year five minutes before the streets were due to open to traffic.

Saw more accidents today than last week, mostly collisions due to inattentiveness or over aggressiveness. Also witnessed some aggro riders cutting off peds. Seriously? You wanna ride fast, go ride in regular traffic. Summer streets isn't the place for that BS.

I ride mostly for exercise at this point... so for me it's peddling fast that yields fast speed. BUT I also notice that on the Central Park loop, there are tons and tons of pedestrians walking all over the road... including families that spread 4 or 5 tiny children all across the one road bicyclists can use. Just to the side of the road are the more than 30 miles of pedestrian walkways that are far safer.

Or how about some of the MUTs I ride on where 3 or 4 peds make damn sure they block the entire path so bikers can't get by.

Yes, there certainly are over aggressive bikers who love to scare the piss out of folks, but given what I too frequently see, sometimes it's really kinda justified.

BUT I also notice that on the Central Park loop, there are tons and tons of pedestrians walking all over the road... including families that spread 4 or 5 tiny children all across the one road bicyclists can use. Just to the side of the road are the more than 30 miles of pedestrian walkways that are far safer.

Or how about some of the MUTs I ride on where 3 or 4 peds make damn sure they block the entire path so bikers can't get by.

I have witnessed and experienced the same and not just in Central Park or the Hudson Greenway -- even when there is a PED-specific walkway or sidewalk they don't care. They'll walk in the clearly marked bike lanes 2, 3, 4, 5 across and don't give a hoot.

Central Park on the weekends during warm weather is the worst. I avoid CP like the plague and normally only venture into the park after dark or really early in the morning. You'll rarely ever catch me in CP other than that during warm weather.

It's a logistical nightmare for most cyclists to navigate without serious ped-dodging...

Hey Kitn, did you get your bollywood dance on yesterday?

I started this week around 8am. Definitely the way to go to avoid the crowded streets. Last week I didn't start until around 10am and it was really packed. I saw someone being loaded into an ambulance this past Saturday. Not sure if it was a bike accident or a sick-related thing though.

I felt last year's event had more fitness classes and performances than this year though. I didn't even really stop to watch anything. Oh and the helmets they are giving out for free this year are so much prettier than the lime and red ones from last year :)

Next week's the last week and kinda sad about that. I wish they can do this event for more weeks.

Central Park on the weekends during warm weather is the worst. I avoid CP like the plague and normally only venture into the park after dark or really early in the morning. You'll rarely ever catch me in CP other than that during warm weather.

It's a logistical nightmare for most cyclists to navigate without serious ped-dodging...

Good old new yorker speaking there lol. I'm the same, I ride CP early mornings or after 7pm if I'm going for a late night hammer session. It's usually the best time to ride CP, weekend or week day.

Overall, I think the "summer streets" program is a great idea, however, I think there are some flaws that could be improved upon. As a far cry, it would be awesome to see summer streets on the west side highway. This would mean that the center of the city could operate as normal and afford cyclist and vendor set ups a long the green way. It will probably cause too much tunnel and bridge traffic but all routes can easily go into and out of the city by avoiding the westside hway.

One can dream right...

I have witnessed and experienced the same and not just in Central Park or the Hudson Greenway -- even when there is a PED-specific walkway or sidewalk they don't care. They'll walk in the clearly marked bike lanes 2, 3, 4, 5 across and don't give a hoot.

Central Park on the weekends during warm weather is the worst. I avoid CP like the plague and normally only venture into the park after dark or really early in the morning. You'll rarely ever catch me in CP other than that during warm weather.

It's a logistical nightmare for most cyclists to navigate without serious ped-dodging...

Interesting, most of the angst I feel is on the East Drive... between the idiot strollers one has to contend with a load of horse droppings, horse carriages and worst of all, the pedicab idiots. Oddly enough, I have found Sat. to be much lkess crowded than Sunday.

Still, CP is much better than the Greenway south (my perspective is from hitting that path around 103rd steet) on weekends. Going north is not too terrible on weekends, but is a very bumpy route.

Hey Kitn, did you get your bollywood dance on yesterday?

No, I didn't get a chance to get my dancing on. :(


Oh and the helmets they are giving out for free this year are so much prettier than the lime and red ones from last year.

OMG! They're giving away free helmets that aren't ugly??? I've gotta get one. Maybe I'll actually wear it if it isn't butt-ugly like that lime green one and that spiderman red one. :lol:


Good old new yorker speaking there lol.

Yep, native New Yorker. I learned long, long ago to stay out of CP during warm weather until it gets dark or early in the morning unless I feel like dealing with all the crazies.


Interesting, most of the angst I feel is on the East Drive... between the idiot strollers one has to contend with a load of horse droppings, horse carriages and worst of all, the pedicab idiots. Oddly enough, I have found Sat. to be much lkess crowded than Sunday.

Still, CP is much better than the Greenway south (my perspective is from hitting that path around 103rd steet) on weekends. Going north is not too terrible on weekends, but is a very bumpy route.

Yep, those "supermom" strollers are a hazard the way those women steamroll down the sidewalk, street and MUP. And pedicabs 2, 3, 4 across is even worse! What's that about?? Why are they several across hogging the street? (I've seen this in and out of CP.) And don't even get me started on the horse droppings... Literally, holy crap. :p

I find the Greenway north, middle and south on the weekends tough to traverse during "peak hours". I've ridden all the way up to the GWB during peak hours on a weekend and it was sloooow going because of the crowds.

Around sunrise, sunset and after dark it's a lot easier so those are the times I normally hit the Greenway on the weekends.

Like a real NY'er I got on a line thinking they were for those free RCN bags,
but it was for a free bicycle helmet. really nice!
saw two minor crack ups, one was due to inattentiveness and the rider jokingly
admitted it and the other was on that second sharp turn into the Park Ave tunnel.
getting out early is the key, lots of riders coming in from the Brooklyn Bridge after 10am.

Yep, those "supermom" strollers are a hazard the way those women steamroll down the sidewalk, street and MUP. And pedicabs 2, 3, 4 across is even worse! What's that about?? Why are they several across hogging the street? (I've seen this in and out of CP.) And don't even get me started on the horse droppings... Literally, holy crap. :p

I find the Greenway north, middle and south on the weekends tough to traverse during "peak hours". I've ridden all the way up to the GWB during peak hours on a weekend and it was sloooow going because of the crowds.

Around sunrise, sunset and after dark it's a lot easier so those are the times I normally hit the Greenway on the weekends.

Hell, those 2 across baby strollers can be a menace on the damn sidewalks not to mention supermarket aisles!

Should clarify, mostly I do solo riding strictly for exercise, so I'm pushing it, peddling hard (as I can). Would probably go a lot slower if I had someone to ride with... still, I do Greenway north before south!

BTW, anyone familiar with the detour around 160th around the ball fields? When I started riding, I founds it impossible to find, I even tried the dirt path between the river and the fields until I saw it was totally washed out. The Greenway was supposed to be complete, so I wrote the city about the issue. Then I carefully examined Goggle Earth and was barely able to see there was a sort of path to the east. I heard back and got into an e-mail conversation... I told them to take the current tiny "bear right" sign and put it 30 feet BEFORE you had to bear off and put it on the right side of the path... to cut down all the overgrowth that almost completely hid the path AND put another sign there indicating it was the Greenway path. All for the rider going north.

So in true City fashion, they DID clear out a ton of brush so one has a chance to see the entrance. BUT they seemed to simply put a somewhat larger "bear right": sign, but kept it at the point one had to make a sharp right to even find it. AND instead of putting a sign where it's needed, at the entrance to the detour, they put on for those heading south... where there is little issue of where to go.

BTW, anyone familiar with the detour around 160th around the ball fields? When I started riding, I founds it impossible to find, I even tried the dirt path between the river and the fields until I saw it was totally washed out. The Greenway was supposed to be complete, so I wrote the city about the issue. Then I carefully examined Goggle Earth and was barely able to see there was a sort of path to the east. I heard back and got into an e-mail conversation... I told them to take the current tiny "bear right" sign and put it 30 feet BEFORE you had to bear off and put it on the right side of the path... to cut down all the overgrowth that almost completely hid the path AND put another sign there indicating it was the Greenway path. All for the rider going north.


You call that a detour? Remember two or three years ago when the route ran past Dinosaur Barbeque and up through the fenced off DEP service road, with cars? That was a detour!

Or last winter when Port Authority was working on the East Tower of the bridge and cyclists had to exit at W 158th Street, go up to Broadway, and then re-enter at West 182nd Street. That was also a detour.

That little shift along the Amtrak tracks is a diversion and mildly annoying since it's not lit at night. It might be slightly confusing the first time through but if you just follow other cyclists it's not hard to find.

I miss NYC and I want to move back! Massachusetts has been a let down for the past 25 years.

You call that a detour? Remember two or three years ago when the route ran past Dinosaur Barbeque and up through the fenced off DEP service road, with cars? That was a detour!

Or last winter when Port Authority was working on the East Tower of the bridge and cyclists had to exit at W 158th Street, go up to Broadway, and then re-enter at West 182nd Street. That was also a detour.

That little shift along the Amtrak tracks is a diversion and mildly annoying since it's not lit at night. It might be slightly confusing the first time through but if you just follow other cyclists it's not hard to find.

But I had only "re-started" biking this June! The first two times I saw the bikers simply go into the fields, scratch their heads and turn back south. Wish I had seen someone go that route... but I only "found" it by Google Earth.

Not so hot at night is an understatement... there are many rim bending hazards, especially as it's a fast downhill going north...

Anyone going this Sat? 8/22

I'll be there.