NYC Roads

[Mergingtraffic]

Drove the Bruckner West to the Deegan North. The lane drops are atrocious. The ramp connector starts as two and drops mid curve.
I was hoping they'd make it a full two lane ramp.

Then they're doing road work just before the Cross Bronx Expwy exit. One of the lanes detours to the service road. It's brutal. I know they have to replace it but my god.

Do you mean Sedgwick Ave.?

Yes, I found this, and an addition of an aux lane which is helpful but the current construction setup is brutal.
https://www.dot.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2019/2019-07-18


Btw, how are the going to make I-278 3-lanes through the NY-895 interchange?  I don't see how it can be done without major disruptions.

[MultiMillionMiler]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

I actually don't usually exceed 20 mph while driving on NYC streets, but 10 mph in school zones???

That would be fucking hilarious if I managed to get a ticket because my car's idle speed can exceed that after just turning it on. Speeding without even hitting the gas!

My dad's car hit 17 mph on idle speed once, and it would have kept accelerating if I didn't have to stop for a light. Imagine having to ride the brakes to not get a ticket LOL

[Duke87]

My dad's car hit 17 mph on idle speed once, and it would have kept accelerating if I didn't have to stop for a light. Imagine having to ride the brakes to not get a ticket LOL

The law in NY does still require you be going 10 over to get a ticket from a camera, so if you have a school zone posted at 10 anything under 20 you're good.

The bridges and tunnels thing is more the obnoxious bit here, since those are quite underposted (the Whitestone Bridge is 40. 40!) and the normal flow of traffic is more than 10 over. Any cameras on those bridges will make bank.
Which is of course exactly the intent - NY is bleeding money thanks to permanent remote work, and throwing more cameras up is a more politically acceptable means of plugging the holes in the budget than raising taxes, at least in NYC. This flies in NYC because the majority of local residents do not own a car and thus are not negatively affected by it in any direct way. It is telling that cameras exist in comparatively few places upstate, where most people drive.

[famartin]

My dad's car hit 17 mph on idle speed once, and it would have kept accelerating if I didn't have to stop for a light. Imagine having to ride the brakes to not get a ticket LOL

The law in NY does still require you be going 10 over to get a ticket from a camera, so if you have a school zone posted at 10 anything under 20 you're good.

I'm curious if there are any states more strict than this? In Maryland, for example, the grace speed is 12 mph, I believe. I guess we're getting a little OT here, so my apologies.

[Rothman]

The idea that speeding fines would fill a hole in NYC's budget caused by people no longer commuting seems unfounded to me, given the size of that hole compared to the paltry size of the expected fines.

[storm2k]

The idea that speeding fines would fill a hole in NYC's budget caused by people no longer commuting seems unfounded to me, given the size of that hole compared to the paltry size of the expected fines.

I think it's more about having an easy "hey look we're doing something" approach to all the people who complain about speeders, red light runners, etc. Which is definitely a problem, don't get me wrong. The main problem is that so many of the scofflaws tend to be the same people who get a parking placard and just park with impunity in bus lanes, in front of hydrants, in parks, etc.

[vdeane]

The idea that speeding fines would fill a hole in NYC's budget caused by people no longer commuting seems unfounded to me, given the size of that hole compared to the paltry size of the expected fines.

I haven't read the budget book verbatim, but I imagine it's just one source for money, not the end all be all holy grail of closing the hole.  Kinda like how the state police were just about everywhere looking for speeders when NY's budget was in the toilet during the Great Recession.

[RobbieL2415]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

Are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable outside school days and times?

[MultiMillionMiler]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

Are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable outside school days and times?

Speed cameras run 24/7 and on weekends in NYC now.

[RobbieL2415]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

Are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable outside school days and times?

Speed cameras run 24/7 and on weekends in NYC now.

Right, but are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable at all times of the day, not just when school is in session?

And I'm confused. If the cameras are in school zones shouldn't they be enforcing only the school zone speed limit?

[CtrlAltDel]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

Are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable outside school days and times?

Speed cameras run 24/7 and on weekends in NYC now.

Right, but are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable at all times of the day, not just when school is in session?

And I'm confused. If the cameras are in school zones shouldn't they be enforcing only the school zone speed limit?

Chapter 71, Title 7, Article 30, Section 1180 of the Consolidated Laws of New York states the following:

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (g) of this section, whenever
maximum school speed limits have been established on a highway adjacent
to a school as authorized in section sixteen hundred twenty, sixteen
hundred twenty-two, sixteen hundred thirty, sixteen hundred forty-three
or sixteen hundred sixty-two-a, no person shall drive in excess of such
maximum school speed limits during:

(1) school days at times indicated on the school zone speed limit
sign, provided, however, that such times shall be between the hours of
seven o'clock A.M. and six o'clock P.M. or alternative times within such
hours;

Now New York City often gets carve outs and whatnot, so that might not apply, but it's a start.

[vdeane]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

Are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable outside school days and times?

Speed cameras run 24/7 and on weekends in NYC now.

Right, but are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable at all times of the day, not just when school is in session?

And I'm confused. If the cameras are in school zones shouldn't they be enforcing only the school zone speed limit?

New York City is weird when it comes to school zones.  Unlike the rest of the country where a school zone is a special limit for a specific section of roadway, in NYC a "school zone" simply means anywhere within a certain distance of a school... a distance that covers something like 75% of the roadway mileage in the city.  And yes, they recently got permission to run the cameras 24/7/365.

[Mergingtraffic]

The ghost of I-895!


I see construction at I-95 NB/Pelham Pkwy.  Are they finally adding a lane to I-95 in that section Northbound?

[plain]

And amazingly it still reads as 895!

[Plutonic Panda]

Article with a few links about future projects: https://www.worldhighways.com/wh9/news/new-york-road-repairs-planned

[dgolub]

I see construction at I-95 NB/Pelham Pkwy.  Are they finally adding a lane to I-95 in that section Northbound?

They're closing exit 8C and extending the exit only lane that now leads to exit 8B so that it will go to exit 9 for the Hutchinson Parkway.  Pelham Parkway will still be accessible through exit 8B.  So, technically yes, they are adding a lane, but only for a very short distance.  That section has already been a bottleneck, though, so it will be interesting to see how much this improves things.

[dgolub]

Article with a few links about future projects: https://www.worldhighways.com/wh9/news/new-york-road-repairs-planned

Looks like this is entirely for routine resurfacing: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-100-million-repave-roads-impacted-extreme-weather

So, don't get excited about any new interchanges or anything like that.

[1995hoo]

In addition to wanting to reduce the speed limit in NYC to 20 (10 for designated school zones, which can be placed most anywhere), Hochul now wants speed cameras on the MTA bridges and tunnels as well.

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/02/budget-proposal-would-allow-speed-cameras-on-mta-crossings-including-verrazzano-narrows-bridge.html

Are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable outside school days and times?

Speed cameras run 24/7 and on weekends in NYC now.

Right, but are school zone speed limits in NY enforceable at all times of the day, not just when school is in session?

And I'm confused. If the cameras are in school zones shouldn't they be enforcing only the school zone speed limit?

New York City is weird when it comes to school zones.  Unlike the rest of the country where a school zone is a special limit for a specific section of roadway, in NYC a "school zone" simply means anywhere within a certain distance of a school... a distance that covers something like 75% of the roadway mileage in the city.  And yes, they recently got permission to run the cameras 24/7/365.

But what he means is not whether the camera runs at all times–he means whether the reduced speed limit is in force at all times such that if you pass the school on, for example, Saturday, do you still risk a speed camera ticket if you don't obey the 10-mph speed limit (assuming that goes into effect).

I have to say when it comes to school zone signage I still think the best approach is the signs I'm used to from here in Fairfax County–the school zone speed limit is in effect when the yellow lights flash. Much easier than expecting people to be able to read a tiny sign with hours posted, or (worse) to know what a given school's hours are (not all schools have the same hours here even on the same day of the week), and much better than just making it a blanket 24/7 thing. I suppose I could see an argument for having the school zone limit continue for some time after regular "instructional" hours if the school has after-school activities that would cause a significant number of kids to be heading out at a later time, though.

[Mergingtraffic]

I see construction at I-95 NB/Pelham Pkwy.  Are they finally adding a lane to I-95 in that section Northbound?

They're closing exit 8C and extending the exit only lane that now leads to exit 8B so that it will go to exit 9 for the Hutchinson Parkway.  Pelham Parkway will still be accessible through exit 8B.  So, technically yes, they are adding a lane, but only for a very short distance.  That section has already been a bottleneck, though, so it will be interesting to see how much this improves things.

Anything will help I'd hope.  Funny thing is technically I-95 drops a lane through the Bruckner Interchange but it doesn't really affect traffic much. 

[Mergingtraffic]

Still can't believe there's quite a bit of non-reflective button copy near the Brooklyn Bridge.

[ixnay]

Anybody see this misspelled sign?

https://nypost.com/2023/02/26/nyc-dot-strikes-out-with-jakie-robinson-parkway-sign/

[The Ghostbuster]

At least they didn't accidentally sign it as the Interboro Parkway, which of course, was the road's pre-1997 designation.

[Mergingtraffic]

Page 13 has possible new bridge connections to the BQE to the bridges.

https://9670f26306f0aa722eb1-bf8a0720b767c6949515361a19a9737f.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploads/website_attachment/attachment/217/BQE_Community_Presentation_videosadded2.pdf

[TheDon102]

Page 13 has possible new bridge connections to the BQE to the bridges.

https://9670f26306f0aa722eb1-bf8a0720b767c6949515361a19a9737f.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploads/website_attachment/attachment/217/BQE_Community_Presentation_videosadded2.pdf

I'm pretty sure this is from 2018, this was vehemently opposed by the community.

[Dellbeam]

Anybody see this misspelled sign?

https://nypost.com/2023/02/26/nyc-dot-strikes-out-with-jakie-robinson-parkway-sign/

This is probably a typo made by somebody while they helped with the sign. It seems like something they could just fix after they make a new one.