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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_jebsub3 wrote

There are certainly things to point to that the city can do better but this is just a temporary condition for construction. I wouldn’t count this along with the lack of bike lanes, bump outs, etc. when done, the pedestrian access will be restored. It’s not a permanent issue.

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Ironboundian t1_jebuiwn wrote

Temporary? Will probably be like that for a year.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_jebvrek wrote

That’s how long construction takes!

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Ironboundian t1_jebywjt wrote

The OP’s point (or maybe mine is) is that any other major city there would be protective scaffolding with lighting allowing the sidewalk to continue during construction. Rather than a big FU to pedestrians for the next 12-18 months at a sidewalk in the heart of the downtown.

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marceljj t1_jec6a87 wrote

still, pedestrians should be accounted for, especially in downtown

plenty of cities (especially NYC) do construction year round without fully blocking access to sidewalks

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NewNewark OP t1_jebvcta wrote

Not providing a safe walkway can lead to someone getting killed. The area has heavy pedestrian traffic and "temporary" can mean anything from 1 week to 5 years in this city. And it shouldnt be allowed for more than a few hours for a true emergency repair.

Go spend an hour in NYC and youll find every single construction site has a pedestrian walkway.

Example:
https://goo.gl/maps/9CQxh7ib5tFRyvUT7
https://goo.gl/maps/BxDe6TkonMb9PacP6

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_jebw0pm wrote

If someone turns the corner on Halsey and doesn’t this ahead and cross to the north side of Raymond in order to get to Broad, then they’re an idiot. It’s not the block is impassable. Just cross the street at the corner.

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NewNewark OP t1_jebwnio wrote

You're a piece of shit if you think blind people are idiots. Fuck off.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_jebx4mz wrote

So that is a good point that I hadn’t considered. Apologies. Obviously I did not mean that blind people are idiots.

What is the general practice in that case for when it’s not considered a good idea to remove a lane of traffic to accommodate? In some places you narrow a lane but this would be taking a two lane thoroughfare down to one and probably cause other issues.

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NewNewark OP t1_jebz05w wrote

So you acknowledge that the choice was made between maintaining a car lane or providing a safe and accessible path for pedestrians. In other words, the title of this thread.

A travel lane, by the way, that is almost always filled with parked cars with their hazards on, making it not much of a lane at all.

If extremely crowded Manhattan can find the space to always provide a walkway, than so can Newark.

Regardless, the burden of how the accommodation is provided should fall on the construction people.

Heres another example in NYC with two simultaneous projects

One side of the street they build an in-road walkway
https://goo.gl/maps/iqJRCwpifbBUwLFY9

So presumably the folks across the street who started their construction later had to create a pedestrian tunnel since they couldnt use another lane

https://goo.gl/maps/EzHQQ62uBuD8obB76
https://goo.gl/maps/EAA5Pzp6g2NbRaAx5

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infomanus t1_jecfnru wrote

Please the city bike lanes and bus lanes are filed with Amazon trucks offloading and sorting.

Designated lanes mean squat

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OGWarlock t1_jecerwf wrote

The issue is there's no safe walking path for peds, they have to go back to the light and cross or walk in the street. A lot harder and more dangerous for people with strollers, seniors, etc.

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