Originally Posted by
noglider
You're right. I shouldn't defend the conditions of the streets just because they're better than before. They are not as good as they should be. One thing we could do to reduce wear on them is reducing motor vehicle traffic. It's the vehicles that wear the streets out, certainly not the bikes or pedestrians.
I don't mean to shout down your advocacy. I'm on your side.
i know, i didn't take it as such so no worries. i agree, they should be charging motorists for using the roads and they absolutely shouldn't let tractor trailers on narrow city streets (like the video of the tractor trailer crashing into the right of way mural last weekend). why we don't have those laws befuddles me.
i think that's why (your reasoning it's better today than it was several years ago) i'm okay with having parked cars as a barrier between moving motorist traffic and moving bike traffic whereas others here are saying it's a huge issue b/c it obstructs visibility and probably contributes to crashes/accidents (as per Seattle noted). yes it would be ideal to have curbs like they do in Amsterdam to separate out the traffic but like i said not having car parking on the street would anger a lot of people.
the backlash by MTA for ROW is incredible and surprises me. i'm glad de Blasio came out with a statement yest/today that refuted it. it seems we're all on a very thin line. and agree with you that it's not that bad in terms of safely cycling the streets of the city.
agree b/c when there are many pedestrians and cyclists, the majority of motorists pass slowly. but there are those that do not and make somewhat to very risky moves that jeopardize people's lives < they are the issue. and to be clear, in the areas where motorists are the majority, it's not very safe for pedestrians and cyclists, i.e. meeker ave, atlantic ave in Brooklyn.