Jackson Heights Life

Obey the traffic laws! That goes for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, e-bike riders, everyone.

5 mph on a bicycle is unnecessary and absurdly slow. No one is following that rule because it doesn't match up with reality.
Even the cars that use 34th in a slow and respectful manner are not going 5 mph.

At least someone agrees with me around here.

 Open Streets is a runaway project gone amok and seriously needs trimming. And planning. The hours are too long and even many people who loved it initially are getting weary of the issues. People who live on the Ave include many, many detractors, who are not vocal online, but definitely are not happy with this change of circumstances and want the street back as the only street with decent vehicular traffic flow and a formerly excellent bike lane. In a recent report by Transportation Alternatives, the numbers indicated less than 10% of the city residents are active cyclists. So that's 90% that are not. And the sidewalks in JH are not so great and could use a serious upgrade. Open the discussions to town halls, local votes(specific) and much more information on who runs, who funds and who to call about 34th ave issues.

 Let's take a good hard look at this project and make sure all parties are at the table whose lives are being affected.

there's a huge park right there to hang.

lol, Travers is huge since when? I'm glad its there, and I'm glad it was upgraded a few years ago, but the fact remains our district is amongst the districts with the least amount of green space per capita.

 The silent majority is the opposition on 34th Ave. Mostly working class people who feel that the excessive street closure impacts them more than others. If you live two blocks away, you might feel that open streets is a delightful use of space. But if you asked most of the residents actually living on or right next to the street, it's like a party that has gone on way too long. Good while it was in full swing, but now it's time to get back to reality, back to the here and now...
  Many of those residents are middle class working people, not heavily wired or available for in person protests. But believe me, they have a voice and are using various channels available. It's not lost on some people that we replaced a packed weekend soccer game with two tennis courts in Travers Park. Or that we have revamped the kiddie playground multiple times whilst we have slim to no senior facilities in the neighborhood. Or that the asphalt at Travers hosted cricket, soccer, girls softball, rollerblading and a host of misc. things which is now an expensive to maintain green mound used far fewer days of the year. I could go on but there are people who live here who think the ENTIRE community should be factored into the 34th Ave decision, not just those most vocal and most networked.

Quote from: itsit on November 23, 2021, 05:59:40 AM

The silent majority is the opposition on 34th Ave.

How do you know that? The only polling I can find is about Open Streets in general, and voters support expanding the program by about 2 to 1. (63% in support) Even a majority of car owners are in favor. Maybe anecdotally the people you talk to are mostly against, but for me it's the opposite, so that just shows you how much anecdotes are worth.

You are right, and another big lesson via this forum is that folks fabricate the story that suits their POV.

The forum becomes a creative writing exercise for them.

That poster, for example, definitely does not speak for the "silent majority".

But that poster often pretends they do.

(I think Trump used that tactic often)

Thank you for the bike racK.
MUCH APPRECIATED.

Went by the bike rack today. No bicycles were parked there. The block is cordoned off for PS 398, so no one using it during the day. Seeing as there is already a wrought iron fence that could be used to secure a bike,  across 69th Street, I wonder if anyone will ever use it.  I can't see anyone biking to Bowlerama and the students at PS 398 are probably too young to ride on their own, so I wonder what the thought process was? Still, it's next to the school and doesn't interfere with anything other than maybe one parking spot, so mostly harmless.

That’s strange… when I walked past a couple of days ago I noticed how many people were using it so you must have caught it on a lull, but rest assured people do use it!

   Would you kindly take a photo even if you see one bike on that rack covered with bird crap in the overpass? This is the one we are talking about. I've never seen a single bike ever and am by there often. Only the same black plastic bags...and tons of bird droppings.