Oct 22, 2014 at 02:03 AM
@Jules- Popup Lakes= Brilliant Wordsmithery.
Prospect Park Relations, Road Sharing, etc
Oct 22, 2014 at 02:10 AM
Wish I could take credit for it Neil, but it wasn't mine.
Oct 23, 2014 at 12:38 AM
FYI, our endorsement of the NYCC'c Central Park protocol is official.
Nov 19, 2014 at 01:35 AM
November "Comcom" meeting tonight, here are the details:
Hi All,
Short meeting today, here are the highlights:
- Parade Grounds are closed at sunset by request of the 78th, even though DOT lists them as having bike lanes.
- They are still talking about re-constituting the road-sharing task force in early 2015
- Drainage: lots completed! Last night's deluge was proof - it did not result in the usual flooding at the bottom of the hill or at the top of the hill where the ducks swim on the right. Generally speaking seems to be a huge success.
- Park has a new website http://ppa-prd.typeco.de/ be sure to check out things to do
Cheers,
Jules
Nov 19, 2014 at 01:35 AM
^website above is still in some kind of "test" mode obviously; we'll be able to post races and results there, as well as anything else that is relevant.
Nov 19, 2014 at 07:29 PM
Nov 19, 2014 at 08:39 PM
Ok, so before this thread explodes in panic; we're actively engaged with Prospect to avoid anything like this and they (PPA) are not aware of anything similar for Prospect.
I realized this is cold comfort for the Central Park crew. We're also reaching out to CRCA and NYCC to figure out how to repeal this.
Nov 19, 2014 at 08:50 PM
Barricades make things dangerous.
I blame this most recent change on Bono.
Nov 19, 2014 at 09:02 PM
Ultimately, the mayor's office moves in an entirely different scope and scale than any of these organizations. If they move for this change in Prospect Park, it'll be almost impossible to stop.
As a side note, while he now lives in Gracie's Mansion, Di Blassio's home is just a couple of quick blocks from the 11th street Prospect Park entrance. He runs in the park most mornings he could afford the time to.
Cheers and Good luck.
Nov 20, 2014 at 11:11 PM
Nov 20, 2014 at 11:39 PM
Has anyone ever seen a cop enforce the speed limit for cars in Prospect Park? I've watched as cars have passed me at far above 30 mph, with nary a cop in sight. They don't enforce the speed limit on roads, for that matter.
Exhibit Seriously WTF: http://gothamist.com/2013/04/08/data_the_nypd_doesnt_care_about_spe.php
"According to their data, after eight hours in Canarsie's 115th Precinct, TA found 194 drivers exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more, with the fastest driver traveling 59 mph in a 30 mph zone."
And yet, we're shitting our pants over 18 pound bikes going 26 mph.
Nov 20, 2014 at 11:41 PM
Hobgoblins sure would be nice.
Nov 22, 2014 at 01:52 AM
It is heartbreaking that TA is keeping quiet about bike barriers in Central Park. So much for that.
Nov 22, 2014 at 01:54 AM
I think TA supported the 20mph initiative.Jeffrey White said:It is heartbreaking that TA is keeping quiet about bike barriers in Central Park. So much for that.
Keep in mind it's a "trial" much like those DISASTROUS pylons they put on the PP descent a few years back.
Nov 22, 2014 at 01:57 AM
I don't care one iota about a speed limit. It's unenforceable. Bike barriers are the real deal.
Nov 22, 2014 at 02:00 AM
Someone brought up an interesting point about speed limits; nobody is mandated to use a speedometer on their bike.
(I know ignorance is no defense)
Nov 22, 2014 at 02:21 AM
I just tweeted @deBlasioNYC @NYC_DOT @NYCParksDept @CentralParkNYC on the matter. Wouldn't hurt to do it yourselves. They read those. (In fact they probably overreact to them.)
Nov 22, 2014 at 02:24 AM
SInce when did anyone get a speeding ticket for anything less than 10mph over the speed limit? Even the speed cameras in SCHOOL ZONES don't trigger a ticket until you are going 11mph over the limit. So the limit should effectively be 31 mph - plenty fast.
Jeff is right, the barriers are crap and let's hope that is realized before they infect PP.
Can someone remind me again why private cars are still allowed in CP & PP?
Jeff is right, the barriers are crap and let's hope that is realized before they infect PP.
Can someone remind me again why private cars are still allowed in CP & PP?
Nov 22, 2014 at 02:27 AM
From NYT, 1924
Nov 22, 2014 at 02:27 AM
Well thankfully, Jim, the bike barriers only go up during car-free hours. I mean, let's not be crazy.
From what I understand, it's fairly decided case law that you can't make a speeding ticket stick around here for less than 5 mph over the limit.
Nov 22, 2014 at 02:35 AM
Also, four hours ago, Transportation Alternatives asked for money on Facebook.
Might be a good time to ask them about their lack of response.
Nov 22, 2014 at 01:38 PM
TA doesn't care about bike racers at all. I often read their news letters and have NEVER seen a single mention of the bike racing community or any of its participants - individuals or organizations. TA strives to be an advocate for the common (wo)man and their transportation needs. They are not interested in sports and not even much about recreation. Citibike users and their kin are their target audience and they do not approach 20 mph. Traffic calming is another topic they adore, and pedestrian barriers serve that purpose very nicely. I think you are barking up the wrong tree with TA.
Dec 02, 2014 at 03:33 PM
We asked Prospect Park to post a little more detail to their cycling page, and they obliged.
Dec 03, 2014 at 12:50 PM
Unless the barricades I saw the other night aren't the real deal, they didn't stop me from doing a lovely loop of central park. They are as pictured on CRCA's website and block only a portion of the road.
Dec 09, 2014 at 04:05 AM
Hi Folks,
Here is a quick summary of my meeting today with Sue Donahue and James Snow from Prospect Park.
The topic was safety in the park, which is on everyone's mind; Liz Marcello (CRCA President) was coincidentally meeting with CPC today as well; we did out best beforehand to synchronize our messages, and shared a fair bit of into & strategy beforehand.
My main message to the PPA was that the existing rules are sufficient for safe shared use of the park and that we see the safety issues largely as an enforcement gap; not a need for more rules, or a structural change to the roads.
Of course a key part of my message was that safety is foremost in all our minds, and that the entire cycling community is both filled with grief at the accident in Central Park, and saddened beyond words that over a dozen people have been killed by cars since then and that the topic of "bikes in the park" is still foremost in the dialogue.
The other main message I had was that any changes to the surface of the roads (barriers, humps, grooves, etc) would be very, very dangerous to cyclists, and that danger would mostly manifest itself in accidents to novice/intermediate cyclists. I brought this up preemptively because road furniture has been suggested in the past; not due to any message from PPA that they were coming or imminent.
Encouragingly Sue and James had no news about pending changes - speed limits, obstacles, striping, signs - none. Their lack of news is in part because of the ongoing paradox where the Park does not manage the roadways, but is at the mercy of DOT.
There was a lot of Q&A with respect to the cyclists' use of the park "How fast do the bikes go in a race?" and things like explaining that a racing peloton is not 20 bikes wide, etc. It all went well and having had James attend one of Charlie's races this year with Garrigan as a guide seems to be paying some dividends with respect to understanding one another.
It sounds like the road sharing task force will be reconvened in early January and we'll have a seat there.
We should be aware that the natural "demand" channel for foot traffic at the bottom of Vanderbuilt hill (the downhill) will only increase with time; I pressed for a second (warning) light midway down the hill so that cyclists have a chance to decelerate before the final light comes within sight. The only long term solution to that problem is probably reversing traffic flow in the park.
We agreed that police on bikes was a great positive step, and that we'd both press for more in 2015.
Generally speaking both Sue and James were friendly, eager to build bridges and it feels like a year (or more?) of regularly attending their meetings is paying some dividends.
Lastly, I reiterated that cyclists are an important and legitimate constituency of park users and that we're eager to continue growing the relationship with park management so that we can avoid any "bikelash" incidents in the future.
The report from Liz in Central Park seems largely positive, although the topic of speedbumps did come up and CRCA is strongly opposed.
Generally speaking a good meeting, but it is truly frustrating that neither we, nor the PPA have any real insight into what DOT is planning.
Feb 04, 2015 at 04:24 AM
Ok Folks, here we go again.
This is the same group that debated on and ultimately pushed for the new striping in the park.
Prospect Park is reconvening the Road Sharing Task Force.
This is the same group that debated on and ultimately pushed for the new striping in the park.
The first meeting is this week and we've been given a seat at this table again. I do not yet know who all the other attendees will be or what agenda there is (if any) but I'll do my best to keep everyone updated.
If anyone has any specific concerns, insights or advice please don't hesitate to contact me directly (jules dot roazen at gmail)
Feb 06, 2015 at 02:57 AM
Ok, so while you all are cranking out mad watts on the indoor trainers I'm staying late at the office looking at spreadsheets and eating Oreos... but I'm also attending things the Road Sharing Task Force because #teamwork.
We met for the first time and my report is brief and positive; the impetus for the task force is that Prospect Park is just trying to be diligent about addressing safety - especially in light of the highly contentious Central Park changes.
There is no axe looming from DOT (their rep was there) and no particular agenda other than looking at what's been done (everyone loves the re-striping) and looking at what can be done further - things like:
zero cars
reversing the flow of traffic (to make the bottom of the Vanderbilt downhill safer)
additional stop lights
a dedicated lane for runners off the roadway
etc
None of these are done deals but also none were ruled out. I'll keep folks posted.
One interesting thing that did come up in the context of bike racing; it seems the biggest complaint (from within the Task Force) seems to be not the racers but the rec riders who chop through the pedestrian lane when avoiding the peloton. It's not obvious to me how serious this concern is, or what we could do if we wanted to address it.
Feb 23, 2015 at 07:27 PM
Hey folks, this is't road sharing per se, but I want to get it out there, and make sure people are aware.
AVD (Anthony Van Dunk) has been posting on Facebook about not wanting (or planning!) to do his usual Spring Series races.
The most likely outcome of this is that Charlie will inherit his Prospect dates and CRCA will get his CP dates.
NONE OF THIS IS CERTAIN THOUGH
Obviously after promoting races for twenty plus years this decision is a bit emotional for him, and I strongly encourage people to keep it super civil on social media.
I'm talking CHURCH CIVIL.
Our (CRCA's and Kissena's) ability to take over his races could definitely be damaged by people posting negative things about him or his late decision to abandon promotion.
Thank you for your understanding on this. Please pass the word.
AVD (Anthony Van Dunk) has been posting on Facebook about not wanting (or planning!) to do his usual Spring Series races.
The most likely outcome of this is that Charlie will inherit his Prospect dates and CRCA will get his CP dates.
NONE OF THIS IS CERTAIN THOUGH
Obviously after promoting races for twenty plus years this decision is a bit emotional for him, and I strongly encourage people to keep it super civil on social media.
I'm talking CHURCH CIVIL.
Our (CRCA's and Kissena's) ability to take over his races could definitely be damaged by people posting negative things about him or his late decision to abandon promotion.
Thank you for your understanding on this. Please pass the word.
Apr 07, 2015 at 02:06 PM
Apparently yesterday's paceline practice was actually smoking...
Hello, all;
You may have seen news reports last evening and this morning about a fire in Prospect Park. Please know that this was a small brush fire that occurred in a wooded area, Quaker Hill, that is located between the Long Meadow Ballfields and the Nethermead. The FDNY responded and extinguished the fire, which was most likely caused by dry conditions. We are currently assessing the damage, but it seems to be minimal.
Best,
--
Grace McCreight
Conservation Corps Fellow
Apr 07, 2015 at 02:07 PM
There was a NBC truck there this morning, but frankly, I couldn't even tell where the fire was.