This site is closed to new comments and posts.

Notice: This site uses cookies to function.
If you are not comfortable with cookies then please don't browse this website.

Near Bicycle Hit and Run on Brooklyn Avenue — Brooklynian

Near Bicycle Hit and Run on Brooklyn Avenue

capt. planet
capt. planet
edited November -1 in Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens
I was cycling down Brooklyn Avenue last week and was forced off the road by a road hogging driver near Bergen Street.
Has anyone else experienced a similar problem on Brooklyn Avenue?
Interestingly, Brooklyn Avenue has two car lanes. The avenue is so narrow however that two cars can barely make it down the avenue side by side. Add a truck or cyclist to the mix, you've got a very dangerous situation.
NY Avenue by comparison has only one car lane, leaving ample room for a bike lane.
What say you about having a one car lane and one bike lane on each avenue, similar to the new situation on Vanderbilt?
The only other north/south bike lanes are on Bedford Avenue.

Comments

  • jack krohn
    jack krohn
    I always avoid Brooklyn Avenue, especially closer to Atlantic. It's too narrow and the cars fly past. Too dangerous for me.
  • tropicalproducts
    tropicalproducts
    I have to ride down Brooklyn to continue westward on the bike route when the lane peters out at Pacific and continues over to Bergen. It's as if this part of the continuous route was completely overlooked...why is there even a bike path on Pacific anyway? Nevermind getting to these safely from north of Fulton street.
  • capt. planet
    capt. planet
    The Community Board manager, Michelle, tells me we need a poll or a petition to bring this problem before the Transporation Committee. I'm curious: do many folks live near Brooklyn Avenue or ride or dirve on Brooklyn? If so, have you experienced a problem with the narrowness of the car lanes there?
  • catwalkertexasranger
    catwalkertexasranger
    a bicycle traveling at 8-15mph and a car traveling at 25-40 mph and the length of each vehicle..the bike being 5 to 6 ft and the car being 10-15 ft long the passing car is next to the bike for 100ths of a second. Being forced off the road involves the driver slowing down to equal the bikes speed and then turning in front of the bike and then slowing even further. If the car driver does this he/she/it is asking for a severe ass kicking not any community survey or government intervention. Roadside justice is often needed and is a simple solution . If somebody tries to kill you in a car..take the plate number or exchange DNA by putting your fist inside the assholes skull
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    I ride down Brooklyn frequently but only for a few blocks near Atlantic Avenue. It's narrow, but I find that cars usually give me the space I need.

    Also I'm rarely riding during crowded driving hours.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    When I'm on Brooklyn, it's generally south of Eastern Parkway. There, it's a "go-road" for cars even though it's fairly narrow, because the lights are timed pretty well.
  • cool the kid
    cool the kid
    I used to ride down Brooklyn all the time coming home from Food Emporium

    The key is to time your ride so that you're not jumbled up in a group of cars. Also def a good move to only ride in the daytime. Generally speaking, heading south anywhere in CH by bike is a pain... all the major aves are too narrow + backed up by buses, double parkers, businesses, cop towers etc...
  • capt. planet
    capt. planet
    Carnivore wrote: When I'm on Brooklyn, it's generally south of Eastern Parkway. There, it's a "go-road" for cars even though it's fairly narrow, because the lights are timed pretty well.
    What is a "go-road"?
  • capt. planet
    capt. planet
    catwalkertexasranger wrote: a bicycle traveling at 8-15mph and a car traveling at 25-40 mph and the length of each vehicle..the bike being 5 to 6 ft and the car being 10-15 ft long the passing car is next to the bike for 100ths of a second. Being forced off the road involves the driver slowing down to equal the bikes speed and then turning in front of the bike and then slowing even further. If the car driver does this he/she/it is asking for a severe ass kicking not any community survey or government intervention. Roadside justice is often needed and is a simple solution . If somebody tries to kill you in a car..take the plate number or exchange DNA by putting your fist inside the assholes skull
    Just to be clear, the car in question pulled up behind me and started honking. I just lost my nerve and swerved into a parked car. It's darn hard to play chicken with a car!
    What I experience is waves of cars at rush hour, traveling in bunches, each more concerned about staying even with the pack of cars, than watching out for the random cyclist. When a cyclist is encountered, the result is annoyance and frequently honking.
    I travel Brooklyn Avenue frequently from Bergen to Prospect Place, just two blocks, at all times of day and evening. It's generally OK except around rush hours, when all hell breaks loose.
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    It's scary when someone comes up and starts honking at you. I just start getting worried about extreme road rage, even though bikers have the inarguable 100% right to occupy a lane of traffic and in fact are being very courteous by staying to one side of the lane when we have no requirement to do so whatsoever.

    I was riding down Lee Avenue north of Flushing Ave when I passed a double parked car. As soon as I passed it, the car decided to start driving and didn't like that I was in front of him. So he started honking, which I ignored. Then he gunned the engine and pulled up beside me and my lady and started swerving in an attempt to make us think he was going to run us off the road.

    I hope people like this get in a one-car accident and break every bone in their body. They deserve to pay for their disregard for others' safety.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Capt. Planet wrote: [quote=Carnivore]When I'm on Brooklyn, it's generally south of Eastern Parkway. There, it's a "go-road" for cars even though it's fairly narrow, because the lights are timed pretty well.
    What is a "go-road"?
    Meaning, a route where you don't have to stop often because of the way the lights are timed. Like heading East on 38th St in Manhattan.
  • capt. planet
    capt. planet
    Does "go" in this case mean running over the occasional cyclist that might slow down progress of the car herd?

    Nothing scares me more as cyclist than a surge of cars traveling together down the avenue, each one trying to keep up with the other. As a former cab driver, I know the feeling. Woe to the cyclist or random jaywalker that gets in the way. :(
  • cool the kid
    cool the kid
    Boygabriel wrote: It's scary when someone comes up and starts honking at you. I just start getting worried about extreme road rage, even though bikers have the inarguable 100% right to occupy a lane of traffic and in fact are being very courteous by staying to one side of the lane when we have no requirement to do so whatsoever.

    I was riding down Lee Avenue north of Flushing Ave when I passed a double parked car. As soon as I passed it, the car decided to start driving and didn't like that I was in front of him. So he started honking, which I ignored. Then he gunned the engine and pulled up beside me and my lady and started swerving in an attempt to make us think he was going to run us off the road.

    I hope people like this get in a one-car accident and break every bone in their body. They deserve to pay for their disregard for others' safety.
    I know a biker who was actually hit on purpose in that area... definitely stay sharp there + take Kent if you can!
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Capt. Planet wrote: Does "go" in this case mean running over the occasional cyclist that might slow down progress of the car herd?
    Yes.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In

Categories