pedestrian hit on 4th ave last night around 6:30

Boygabriel said:

I'm not sure why there should be highways THROUGH city centers and densely populated neighborhoods.

We need to facilitate commerce and encourage public transit.

We do not need to be encouraging or facilitating private vehicles driving 50 mph down 4th avenue as it slowly converts into a very residential corridor.

Private vehicles are here to stay. Whether they be gas driven rotary or electrical magnetic. The trick is to slow these guys down. A simple timing adjustment of the lights and making some avenues a commercial only transit would certainly slow things down. Public transit? With all due respect, it's a fucking joke. In between the persistent fare raises, the constant delays and rerouting and filth, who wants to deal with it? We have one of the most antiquated mass public transit systems on earth. We can't even get disabled people down to most of the subway stations. We have no direct express/high-speed going to our airports from any point in the five boroughs. Save the Air Tran which you have to take the LIRR. Work on the solutions first and your problems will solve themselves. When I was in Edmonton, Canukia, a city with half the population of Brooklyn but more than twice the area, their mass transit ran like clockwork and were 70% filled off-hours. And this is a place that is very car friendly. No one had to take the trains or buses. But they did because of the efficiency, cleanliness and fare.

Idlewild said:

Private vehicles are here to stay. Whether they be gas driven rotary or electrical magnetic. The trick is to slow these guys down. A simple timing adjustment of the lights and making some avenues a commercial only transit would certainly slow things down. Public transit? With all due respect, it's a fucking joke. In between the persistent fare raises, the constant delays and rerouting and filth, who wants to deal with it? We have one of the most antiquated mass public transit systems on earth. We can't even get disabled people down to most of the subway stations. We have no direct express/high-speed going to our airports from any point in the five boroughs. Save the Air Tran which you have to take the LIRR. Work on the solutions first and your problems will solve themselves. When I was in Edmonton, Canukia, a city with half the population of Brooklyn but more than twice the area, their mass transit ran like clockwork and were 70% filled off-hours. And this is a place that is very car friendly. No one had to take the trains or buses. But they did because of the efficiency, cleanliness and fare.

I was commenting on what I think govt priorities should be, not what I expect to happen (which is more of the same b.s.)

Discourage personal cars, especially in densely populated city centers and commercial districts.

Encourage public transit with more funding, more oversight, bridge & tunnel tolls, city center fees, dedicated bus lanes, etc etc.

Idlewild, I typically leave from 7th Avenue and Garfield Street.

If there were an expressway from downtown Brooklyn to the Jackie Robinson, that would be far better than the BQE. As it is now, I would not take the Jackie Robinson from downtown Brooklyn.

booklaw said:

Idlewild, I typically leave from 7th Avenue and Garfield Street.

If there were an expressway from downtown Brooklyn to the Jackie Robinson, that would be far better than the BQE. As it is now, I would not take the Jackie Robinson from downtown Brooklyn.

Okay. I wasn't sure. I believe I see what you mean. And yes, taking the Jackie Robinson from PS is certainly a viable alternative. But only, IMO, during afternoon rush hour when the lights are synched south & east bound.

If gas goes above $4.25 a gallon regular, it may solve a good portion of the traffic problem. If it hits $5.00, I know it will. We can all trade in our cars to pay the utilities.

I think an increase in the price of fuel will merely cause people to take less discretionary trips.

In many cases (and places), a private vehicle would continue to provide most efficient choice in terms of time and money.

As someone who grew up outside of NYC, I remember the DOT constructing Share A Ride lots only to have them be unused. It was as if they thought all of those vehicles with one person in them would just magically be able to find someone else going to the same location at the same time, and then want to return home at the same time. Very naive.

Nope, public transportation won't help everyone. Those who live in remote areas will still need a car, if only to drive to the train station.

booklaw said:

Imagine the disruption that will cause in cities built for cars, with no subways, limited bus routes, etc.

Imagine also the disruption in states like Texas or the Dakotas, with huge distances between cities and extremely limited public transportation.

Also the entire rest of the world gets by with gas costing nearly double (or more) what it costs here.

The rest of the world doesn't drive massive SUV's, vans or pickup trucks...

Have you been to Europe lately? You can fit their cars in the trunk of many American cars.

But we're talking about the areas of the country where cars are more compulsive for regional travel, right?

If you are only using your car to commute or run errands, I don't see what's wrong with weaning these people off any unnecessarily large vehicles.

I agree with you. But it won't be easy or painless to achieve that goal.

No doubt.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. ??

http://www.youtube.com/v/EdDUmvPK2OM&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded

....things have gotten much better.

Boygabriel said:

Also the entire rest of the world gets by with gas costing nearly double (or more) what it costs here.

booklaw said:

The rest of the world doesn't drive massive SUV's, vans or pickup trucks...

Have you been to Europe lately? You can fit their cars in the trunk of many American cars.

True about Europe and Canukia having gas almost if not more than twice ours. However, let's not forget the rest of the continents where larger size vehicles make up a good chunk if vehicular traffic. Such as South America, Africa and parts of Asia.Let's also remember that a lot of these countries subsidize prices where one can pay as little as ninteen to twenty five cents per gallon. And if it's not going into an SUV, it's going into a V-8 with twin turbos. The rest of the world is certainly catching up in wealth, and from the look of things they enjoy flaunting it.

Boygabriel said:

Let's also remember that a lot of these countries subsidize prices where one can pay as little as ninteen to twenty five cents per gallon. And if it's not going into an SUV, it's going into a V-8 with twin turbos. The rest of the world is certainly catching up in wealth, and from the look of things they enjoy flaunting it.

Gas is only heavily subsidized in the heavily oil producing countries (Venezuela, Iran). Otherwise it is heavily taxed compared to the US.

If other countries subsidize it outright, we subsidize it with exceptionally low taxes, compared to the entire rest of the world.

In the little traveling I've done in the third world, mostly Africa, I have not seen many SUVs or V8s, outside of the very wealthy.

Or warlords.