Bus Lane Camera Legislation Is Watered Down
As someone who has a strong understanding of politics on all levels, I don’t get too excited or too disappointed when new legislation passes or is attempting to do so. Too many people get caught up in the hoopla of success or frustration from failure. The main task they forget to do is actually take a look at & fully understand the language of legislation. This theory is playing itself out now with the latest in the saga of the bus cam bill.
The last piece of news made on this topic was almost two weeks ago when the State Senate Transportation Committee approved legislation that would allow the city to use cameras as an enforcement tool on up to 50 miles of bus lanes. As I opined in that entry, the headline was misleading since it was only inching closer to full approval.
Now it gets messy as it always seems to in politics. The legislation which was passed in the State Senate Transportation Committee has been completely watered down & shoved into the recent deal to save Student MetroCards. The watered down version contains language for camera enforcement on only select routes & nowhere near the near 50 originally proposed. Noah Kazis of Streetsblog has more in this report:
We reported on Friday that bus lane camera enforcement was passed as part of the so-called student MetroCard deal: If the MTA would eat the cost of student fares, Albany would allow it to keep its bus lanes free of traffic. That wasn’t ever a good deal for transit riders, but as is so often the case, it gets worse in the fine print.
The version passed into the budget bill wasn’t the original legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, which would have authorized cameras for 50 miles of bus lanes, but a more limited authorization that restricts cameras to a few Select Bus Service routes.
Here’s the offending language:
WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, SUCH BUS LANE PHOTO DEVICES SHALL ONLY BE OPERATED ON DESIGNATED BUS LANES THAT ARE SELECT BUS SERVICE LANES WITHIN THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AND ONLY DURING WEEKDAYS FROM 7:00 A.M. TO 7:00 P.M.
Click here for the complete report.
These kind of games are exactly why it is so hard to make progress in reforms for the better of mass transit in our region. This same theory can be used on just about any legislation or topic regardless of its merit or location. Some might argue that this should be celebrated as it is a small victory in a war yet to be finished. However one can’t always look at things with that perspective as there are times where things are either right or wrong. This watered down version is wrong & quite honestly any thinking otherwise is foolish & needs to reexamine things.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- State Senate Approves Bus Camera Legislation
- NYDN Editorial: Bus Lane Cameras Are Good
- Reappointment Is Truly A Blow To Mass Transit
- Voting Details On The Defeated Bus Camera Bill
- Upstate Screws The City Again
Internal Report Reveals Action Before Death
Almost 2 months ago, the MTA NYC Transit family lost track supervisor James Knell after he came into contact with the electrified third rail at the Beach 90th Street A S Station in Queens. Two days after his death, a report in the New York Daily News revealed his death could have been avoided had official safety regulations been followed.
Fast forward to the present where an internal report reveals that Mr. Knell was moving a container of spikes weighing at least 90 pounds when he fell. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more:
James Knell was moving a bulky container with at least 90 pounds of spikes when he fell to the third rail, an internal NYC Transit report reveals.
The clunky design of the container, and the formidable weight of the load, are among a series of 11 safety concerns raised in the preliminary report on the track workers’ tragic death on April 26.
“These are all issues that could very well be presented to a jury as to liability or fault for the wrongful death” of Knell, said lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, who is representing Knell’s widow, Jackie.
The Office of System Safety Report doesn’t place blame or fault. It does identify actions the agency should take to make work sites safe – including providing workers with spike containers with handles so they can be moved more easily and safely and limiting the weight to 51 pounds.
The spike buckets currently can hold as many as 115 spikes and weigh 120 pounds, according to the report, which says: “The shape and size of the spike bucket … makes it difficult to be picked up and carried by two people working together.”
Click here for the complete report,
I am going to try & get a copy of this report as I would like to read all of the safety improvements outlined. There is something seriously wrong with protocol when one man is carrying odd shaped containers weighing almost 100 pounds in an already dangerous work area. Mr. Knell’s death clearly should have never happened & it is a shame it always takes someone paying the ultimate price for common sense changes to take place.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Knell Family To Sue NYC For $50 Million
- Track Supervisor Death Could’ve Been Avoided
- MTA NYCT Track Supervisor Dies This Morning
- MTA Worker Falls To His Death
- MTA Failed To Fix Hazardous Subway Platforms
Subway Conductor Busted In Web Sex Sting
In a story that we can agree is completely disgusting & disturbing, a MTA NYC Transit Subway Conductor was busted in a web sex sting. The culprit in question is 31 year old Louis Velez who was busted after arriving to meet a 14 year old girl he setup a sexual encounter with over the internet. Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News has more:
An MTA subway conductor was busted for setting up a liaison with a 14-year-old girl – who ended up being an undercover cop, authorities said.
Louis Velez, 31, wrapped up his shift Thursday and rushed to Queens to meet the girl he’d been sending sexually explicit Internet messages over the past week, prosecutors said.
Using the screen name waiting4uma, Velez sent numerous explicit instant messages to an NYPD vice detective between June 8 and Thursday, prosecutors said. He also sent photos of his genitals and asked if he could see photos of the teen, they said.
Around 1:20 p.m. Thursday, Velez sent an instant message to the detective, saying he’d be off work at 3p.m. and could meet in Queens an hour later.
When Velez arrived on time for a supposed sexual encounter, he walked up to the female undercover, chatted briefly and then walked over to a gas station where prosecutors said he bought condoms.
Click here for the complete report.
This story just gets my blood boiling. While I am not a fan of entrapment which is what this was, I can’t feel sorry for when it happens to sexual predators & that is exactly what any adult is who is trying to have sex with a minor. If he was so quick to meet this 14 year old, it is probably safe to assume he has done this before. Who knows how many potential victims have run into Mr. Veldez. I hope this is being looked into by the police.
What the hell is wrong with adults nowadays? How can any sane person get any sort of thrill or excitement from the thought or actual activity of sex with a minor? People like this have zero business being alive in my honest opinion.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA Bus Driver Arrested For Exposing Himself
- Woman Gives Birth On B61
- Bus Stop Dispute Turns Deadly
- NYC Transit Christmas 2014 Service Plan
- Man Pushed Onto Subway Tracks
Jamaica El Slated For Facelift
NYC Council Member Elizabeth Crowley pointing out a sample of how the Jamaica El is falling apart. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Crowley’s official website.
If you have ever taken a ride on the J while running along the Jamaica el, you will notice how horrible of a shape it is in. One local official, New York City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley has been pleading with the MTA for a long time to do something about the el. This past Wednesday, she received welcome news from the MTA as they told her part of the span will be repaired & repainted as part of a $20-30M rehabilitation project. Lisa L. Colangelo of the New York Daily News has more:
The long-neglected J train el, which casts a gloomy shadow over Jamaica Ave. in Woodhaven and Richmond Hill, is slated to get a facelift next year.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials told City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley on Wednesday that part of the span will be repaired and painted forest green, Crowley said.
The underside of the tracks is currently marred by chipped paint as well as dirt and grease that have accumulated over decades. Residents and merchants alike have griped that the elevated tracks are an eyesore that hurts the lively shopping strip.
The 30-month project, tentatively scheduled to start next year, would rehabilitate steel girders and paint almost 3 miles of the line between the Cypress Hills station and 130th St.
The work is expected to cost between $20 million and $30 million.
Click here for the complete report.
As someone who has rode through this section many times over the years, I am glad to see it is finally schedule for a rehabilitation. This el has been begging for repairs for years & I applaud the continued efforts of Elizabeth Crowley & other leaders in pounding on the MTA’s doors until something was arranged. If only more officials took this approach & seriously fought for their riding constituents. I am curious as to the full list of the repairs that will be done for this project as the price tag seems a bit high at first glance.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- LIRR Derailment Just West Of The Jamaica Station
- Queens Bound Service Returns To N Line
- Most Extreme Commuter Yet
- Park Slope Advocates Push For Simple Fixes At 4th Ave-9th St Station
- Rockaway Station Rehab Schedule Update
Service Diversions 06-18-10
I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest information for the weekend & following week (beyond in some cases). For riders going near the Broadway-Nassau & Fulton Street stations, do not forget to read this entry to see what service is affected.
I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to carry with you or use your mobile device to access the phone friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:
