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I walked up on quite an accident on Vanderbilt a few minutes ago - wondering if anyone saw what happened. It seemed like maybe a car turning left on the Ave. hit a pedestrian. Heartbreaking scene.
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It's not surprising. I walk my daughter around the neighborhood and it's amazing how many cars run stop signs, run lights, don't yield to pedestrians. It seems worse in Brooklyn than in Manhattan. Law of averages says someone's gonna get clocked with that behavior going on all the time. I'll ask this question to the populace: if I, humble citizen, wanted to fight this behavior, how would I go about it? I've thought about it for a while now. I was going to take a video of the stop sign at the corner of my block and put it on youtube just to show how many cars roll through or speed through the stop sign. What could be done with that, who knows. How do you raise awareness about this issue?
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my better half and I have been debating this for quite some time too. Stop signs mean nothing in prospect heights as a whole apparently... We've thought about buying a video camera and staking out our corner for a day or two as well and then turn the footage, complete with license plate numbers of course, over the the police. But will the cops be able to do anything after the fact if they didn't see it happen? That is my question. I think petitioning for speed bumps would help as it would, hopefully, slow traffic down a bit. For now i'm just going to cross in the middle of my street when walking my dog because it is much safer than crossing at the crosswalk. very sad.
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drivers running red lights and stop signs is one of my biggest complaints about brooklyn, followed by speeding. i have a real fear that a kid is going to be killed on dean street near the playground @ 6th. drivers haul ass from flatbush to vanderbilt trying to beat all the lights. i wish there were more red light cameras (like the one on flatbush @ bergen that must catch dozens running the light every day), but i wish they'd also post large signs warning drivers before the intersection. it seems to me that an after-the-fact ticket, while a deterrent for future dangerous behavior, doesn't prevent it in the present. as for stop signs, other than posting cops at intersections, i don't know what else could be done (automatic stop sign cameras probably too difficult to design and would be expensive). speed bumps might slow traffic, but won't stop drivers rolling thru stop signs, and the DOT won't put speed bumps on streets with bus routes or firehouses. i suppose blood on the hands of DOT might be the only thing that gets action to calm traffic and stepped up enforcement.
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Subject: Drivers out of control
I'm not per say a community activist type person but as someone who loves biking and walking I really feel like the drivers in prospect heights are out of control. I'm all for doing something about it. If you film someone committing a traffic violation can you then take that to the police and submit it ? Will or can anything be done? I guess I'm fed up with the madness that happens out there, constantly watching my back due to dealing with these drivers.Notions of chance and fate are the preoccupation of men engaged in rash undertakings. -
What drives me mad, as a driver, are drivers that ignore the bike-lane designations. What's the penalty for deciding to pass everyone waiting at a light by cruising by everyone in the bike lane? They're tight spaces to begin with, and there's a good chance that drivers aren't all checking their blind spots in a non-lane. Also, it screws up traffic flow at the intersection. As a related note, you HAVE to drive a bit in bike lanes if you are parking on a spot on the other side, so biker's need to cut cars a little slack.
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so what happened with the accident today? does anybody know?
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Just checked the gothamist map and nothing is listed...but I live at Sterling and Vandy and wouldn't be at all surprised if it was a car running a red light.
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What the hell do cops do around here? I agree, drivers are outta fucking control here. Definitely worse than Manhattan. I feel much safer crossing any street in Manhattan. I can't even count all of the close calls I've since I moved here. This fucking corrupt city spends so much time and effort giving out parking tickets but does nothing to protect people. Fucking cowards. Useless cops. Get off your fat asses and start protecting instead of hiding somewhere. This is where my taxes go? To pay for some fucking idiot to give me a ticket for being 20 seconds late? If they replaced half of these meter monkeys with cops who actually did something constructive, it would be a hell of a lot safer around here.
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i didn't see the accident but i just got home from a bike ride to the coop from south bed stuy. when crossing atlantic 3 (YES 3!) cars took a left on red from atlantic onto Grand Ave, followed by the last of the three nearly hitting me taking a right turn three blocks later onto Bergen (I had to stop and half throw my bike down). I really think it is not so much the neighborhood of Prospect Heights specifically, but larger roads that are treated as highways in brooklyn
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threecee » i wish there were more red light cameras (like the one on flatbush @ bergen that must catch dozens running the light every day), but i wish they'd also post large signs warning drivers before the intersection. it seems to me that an after-the-fact ticket, while a deterrent for future dangerous behavior, doesn't prevent it in the present.
I I'm all in favor of curbing aggressive driving through traffic calming devices, adding separated bike lanes, etc, but cameras should only be put in if they work...Further, prosecuting drivers and revoking licenses for those involved in traffic accidents might be an easy place to start...Incidents like the one where a former NYPD commissioner ran down a pregnant woman and drove away are a prime example of this sort of thing... -
I live on Park near Washington. I'm convinced that the bumps further west on Park only encourage drivers to speed up when they hit my block (to shave seconds, if anything, off their trip). I find the drivers in this part of Brooklyn as bad as anywhere in the city.
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Speed bumps or a constant police car presence is the only thing I can think of to slow people down. To get rid of a majority of them, I'd make a law requiring drivers to take a driver's test, road and written, every five to seven years."Clamato! Straight Up! No chasah!
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PHrez » What the hell do cops do around here? I agree, drivers are outta fucking control here. Definitely worse than Manhattan. I feel much safer crossing any street in Manhattan. I can't even count all of the close calls I've since I moved here. This fucking corrupt city spends so much time and effort giving out parking tickets but does nothing to protect people. Fucking cowards. Useless cops. Get off your fat asses and start protecting instead of hiding somewhere. This is where my taxes go? To pay for some fucking idiot to give me a ticket for being 20 seconds late? If they replaced half of these meter monkeys with cops who actually did something constructive, it would be a hell of a lot safer around here.
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In the rest of the country the police manually control a traffic signal or two, set up a radar gun, radio ahead that the car was speeding and pull the guy over on foot after they come to a stop at the light. The NYPD does it all day downtown and Hells Kitchen catching people for talking on the phone and speeding on 9th ave before the PA. With the child car seat standards they could pull cars over on Classen, Franklin and Nostrand 24/7. I see the same 6 cops in the train station @the time kids get out of school, the most I have seen them do is give a kid stern words for jumping the turnstile after loosing his student metro card. From the look of things walking or running are no longer a big part of police work,most look they are the John Goodman diet.
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I agree with Speed Bumps -- especially at the Dean and 6th spot threecee mentioned ... As an elementary school teacher we fought to get them put near our school and they were finally put in this year. We have had a half-dozen kids hit each year by people flying through red lights or turning without checking the crosswalk first. It's really sad. I honestly can't think of anything else -- I was actually almost hit today (I jumped out of the way) at Winthrop and 56th Street when someone drove through a stop sign as I was crossing the street at a cross walk.
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I'm the OP on this thread. Everything said above about speeding, etc.. is absolutely true. I just wanted to clarify, though, that I don't really know what happened last night. I was coming home from work and walked up on the scene as EMTs were trying to hoist the victim's stretcher off the ground and into the ambulance. There was a car stopped there that *looked* like it had been taking a left onto Vandy, and a man was talking to the cops and filling out paper work. He seemed to be the driver. I looked around for a bike and didn't see anything and there was only one car so I think it was a pedestrian, and definitely not a hit and run. Just want to make it clear that I didn't witness any craziness on the part of the driver.
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If you are interested in these issues, I would recommend following streetsblog.com. They cover a lot of traffic safety issues and also have a weekly post called "The Weekly Carnage" where they actually follow up on accidents/crashes. http://www.streetsblog.org/about-the-weekly-carnage/"Now if every newspaper editor had to deal with a reader like Emily, boy, would they think twice, or three times." --greg
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xlizellx » I agree with Speed Bumps
There is a speed bump on Sterling just before you get to Vanderbilt. I don't notice, however, that it does much good. I must be the only one to slow down before going over it. Also, about something related: does anyone else notice how short pedestrian signals are to cross Vanderbilt? I feel like if you don't bound out into the street as you see the "walk" signal, then you'll miss it. I would love if someone could lengthen those signals by about 10 seconds. -
To address this serious problem, I would recommend contacting your State Senator Eric Adams at 718 284 47900, let him know about your concerns and have him to set up a community meeting with him and your local Pct. If a meeting is set up, try to get media coverage . That's the only way to force the Police to address the problem
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apophis36 » [quote="threecee"] i wish there were more red light cameras (like the one on flatbush @ bergen that must catch dozens running the light every day), but i wish they'd also post large signs warning drivers before the intersection. it seems to me that an after-the-fact ticket, while a deterrent for future dangerous behavior, doesn't prevent it in the present.
I'm not aware of any research that shows that red light cameras do anything except raise revenue for the city through additional tickets AND increase accidents because drivers will stop short to avoid the ticket (Which results in the person tailgating them to run right into them). This has the added benefit of allowing insurance companies to charge higher premiums (Where there is state regulation) due to the additional moving violations...In addition, traffic lights where cameras are used typically have the length of the yellow light shortened to increase the number of tickets (And therefore revenue). In short, everyone wins except Joe Public....[/quote] check out this study: http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/pdf/DOT2008RedLigthCameraProgramAnnualReport.pdf seems that red light cameras, at least according to this study, do reduce accidents. do you have any proof that contradicts this? -
So no one knows what happened and if the person is ok?I believe in peace, bitch.
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threecee » [quote="apophis36"][quote="threecee"] i wish there were more red light cameras (like the one on flatbush @ bergen that must catch dozens running the light every day), but i wish they'd also post large signs warning drivers before the intersection. it seems to me that an after-the-fact ticket, while a deterrent for future dangerous behavior, doesn't prevent it in the present.
I'm not aware of any research that shows that red light cameras do anything except raise revenue for the city through additional tickets AND increase accidents because drivers will stop short to avoid the ticket (Which results in the person tailgating them to run right into them). This has the added benefit of allowing insurance companies to charge higher premiums (Where there is state regulation) due to the additional moving violations...In addition, traffic lights where cameras are used typically have the length of the yellow light shortened to increase the number of tickets (And therefore revenue). In short, everyone wins except Joe Public....[/quote] check out this study: http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/pdf/DOT2008RedLigthCameraProgramAnnualReport.pdf seems that red light cameras, at least according to this study, do reduce accidents. do you have any proof that contradicts this?[/quote] Interesting...The stuff I read was over a study that was over 5 years old, and I think may have referred to accidents, not injuries...It was right about those programs being a revenue enhancer though...The program turned a fairly nice profit (around $73MM on a $120MM investment). Anyway, I amend my view to say that they may actually benefit the public in light of superior information...Thank you for enlightening me. -
I don't know what happened to the person hurt on February 1, however, this is not the first time this has happened. What does happen in our dear neighborhood is that people move in and move out and are not able to get involved with the block association or local politicians. There is a Prospect Place Block association meeting on Wednesday night, February 10, not sure of the time, held at the Phoenix House. They are interested in new issues. So much focus has been on the Ratner footprint. The precinct used to have open meetings with the block association years back. We also had police"men" come to our meetings and talk with us. We had locksmiths, we even were given whistles for our keychains (still have mine). There is a Sterling Place Block Association, a Dean Street Block Association Many parents (and adults) lament about the traffic and have discussed speed bumps, but then they move on. Most of us are not homeowners and it is (perhaps psychologically) sometimes challenging for renters to "own" their neighborhoods. We come from "somewhere else" and it takes time to really "be" a part of our neighborhood It is also a challenge to get to know our local politicians. I for one, felt disaffected, especially when I worked 10 or more hours a day. Oh, and another excuse was that the 77th Precinct doesn't focus on our neighborhood because crime isn't a big deal on our end. You would think that writing traffic tickets would fill the coffers, especially in Brooklyn, but then...the complaints might start because there are too many traffic violations.... Call, write emails, do a small bit and vote if you can. Hang out on the street more and get to know your mail person, garbage person, UPS guy, etc., that's how things start. It is difficult to get to know our neighbors -- especially if everyone is walking around with a phone or other device. Whew, didn't know all of this would come out. I am older now...learned the hard way. Many of my original neighbors are gone. We used to watch out for each other. Good night.If I don't quite understand you...well, that's all right...if you don't want to understand me...it really doesn't matter.... If we all try to understand each other, well now, just think of what might happen!
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get a truckload of sand, make yourself some homemade speed-bumps and put them out there. you might catch hell, but the issue you care about so much will definitely get some attention. this thread is boring otherwise.
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i also routinely almost get run over at prospect and carlton as drivers are trying to beat the light across flatbush. including when i was 9 months pregnant, and holding my toddler's hand across the street. i've called the community affairs officer at the 77th precinct a few times about the traffic in this neighborhood, and it would help if others did too. (718) 735-0634.
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There is a Prospect Place Block Association meeting tonight at 7:30. Location is the Phoenix House between Carlton and Vanderbilt. Bring your snowshoes! How would you like to see your Block Association better serve our community? Bring your ideas and your enthusiasm to our next Advisory Board meeting! Wednesday, February 10, 7:30 pm Phoenix House, 174 Prospect Place All are welcome! *Bring items of interest! - ******************************* This is a message of the Prospect Place (of Brooklyn) Block Association, Flatbush to Underhill Avenues. To unsubscribe, send an "unsubscribe" message to PPBASurveyInfo@gmail.com.If I don't quite understand you...well, that's all right...if you don't want to understand me...it really doesn't matter.... If we all try to understand each other, well now, just think of what might happen!
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