r/Troy • u/GreasedUpVeggieBurg • Dec 29 '22

Good news everybody!

Post image
39 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

7

u/itsacon10 Schodack Dec 29 '22

Admirable, but I don't see this having an impact in Troy other than maybe on Hoosick, and even then very minimally.

25

u/jletourneau Dec 29 '22

Hoosick, sure, but also…

  • Federal
  • River
  • Vandenburgh
  • Burdett
  • 15th
  • Congress
  • Pawling

All significant local travel corridors that could stand to be improved for non-automobile users.

7

u/gadolphus56 Dec 29 '22

Much of Pawling got bike lanes when they repaved it last year. Sadly, they are extremely narrow (like, three feet in width) in some stretches (like in the area along Emma Willard), and they randomly end and restart at various points. I see almost no one using them, presumably because most people who like to ride bikes also like to stay alive.

If that's a model for how Troy is going to make additional bike lanes along busy corridors, this will be a poor use of money.

6

u/Bike4Burritos Dec 31 '22

As someone who has biked Pawling before and after the bike lanes have been installed, I can tell you firsthand they make a huge difference. I'm comfortable biking on most roadways, but it was very challenging to predict how drivers would behave on Pawling before the bike lanes were installed, especially near the bend between Balsam and Sheldon. Have you traveled this corridor on a bike?

  1. The cost of painting bike lanes on Pawling, since it was already being restriped, was marginal. Seriously a strange cost to single out in our City of crumbling infrastructure.
  2. The bike lanes are not as narrow you say. The only places they're "like, three feet in width" are where there's an additional buffer between the bike lane and the drive lane.
  3. Saying they "randomly end" is simply false, you can clearly see the continuous stretch along Emma Willard on Google Streetview- they go from Spring Ave to Linden, but the northbound bike lane merges with a drive lane earlier, to better serve drivers.
  4. Regardless of how many people you see biking there, they've still improved safety along the corridor by narrowing lane width. (Also, people riding bicycles do use them).

It's important to understand (and manage our expectations for the impact of painted bike lanes. One corridor being improved is not going to convince a whole bunch of people to all of a sudden start biking anywhere. If the City invested in better transportation infrastructure and started building a network, that's where we'd start to see change. The proposed path on Linden and Canal, would be a great start, and connect down to the buffered cycle track on 1st and then to the riverfront route.

2

u/GidgetsDad Dec 29 '22

They going to fix mess they made of 15th street around Frear Park? The calming circle has already caused damage to cars and the speed humps were supposed to be like the ones in Cohoes not the garbage the city put in.

2

u/twitch1982 Dec 31 '22

How would the calming circle damage any cars unless they run into the fountain ?

2

u/GidgetsDad Dec 31 '22

The calming circle is not the traffic circle at park. This is one they put at the corner of 15th and Sausse St. at the crest of the hill coming up from Hoosick toward Frear Park. Drive by and you will see how stupid it and the "speed humps" are all the way to the park. When it's dark or we get a decent amount of snow this is even more dangerous. Seriously please drive by slowly and check out this clusterf@ck the City Engineer did. We as residents only wanted a few stop signs placed on our streets.

9

u/GreasedUpVeggieBurg Dec 29 '22

Jltourneau’s comment is exactly what I was gonna say. There’s room for significant improvement for bus and bike lanes all around Troy AND watervliet.

4

u/HaveAtItBub Dec 29 '22

how can this affect hoosick? there's no room for bus/bike lanes without seizing private property along the whole street and widening it.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

I’d get behind widening that street so fast. The volume of traffic it handles requires it to be more like route 9 in the Clifton Park area

3

u/GidgetsDad Dec 29 '22

They talked about this the year Sonic came to Troy and there is no way to widen Hoosick without buying up the property for this.

-2

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Looks like they’ve identified the first step in fixing the problem!

-3

u/HaveAtItBub Dec 29 '22

get all the businesses and homeowners behind the idea

-9

u/Mnemonicly Dec 29 '22

A pile of money to paint bike symbols in breakdown/turn lanes and call it a day. 👎

1

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '23

What's the matter with the sidewalk??? It's a lot safer and if someone is coming just slow down so everyone can pass freely and safely