By Sam Schwartz
Dear Transit Sam,
I was driving along Prince St. past Broadway when I came across a car who was dropping off a passenger on the right side of the street between Broadway and Mercer St. The recently painted green bike lane is used quite frequently and I’m not big on blocking the lane to drop someone off (forces drivers out of the lane and somewhat into harm’s way). But with the Prince St. bike lane, I noticed a “No Stopping” regulation. Does the “No Stopping” regulation apply to the bike lane?
Sabrina, Soho
Dear Sabrina,
The “No Stopping” regulation means that cars and taxis can not use the lane to pick up or discharge passengers. It also means that trucks may not load or unload. If you must stop, pull over to the left but if there is no space, drive around the corner to drop off. As a side note you may have noticed that the traffic moves much better on Prince St. since the bike lane was put in. The stringent “No Stopping” rule also benefits drivers.
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
The police are giving people tickets when they stop in front of their apartment buildings in Lower Manhattan-Wall St. area to unload groceries or in one case when a man stopped to let his nine-months pregnant wife out of the car. Can they do this? Carole, W. Village
Dear Carole,
They can do it but are they in the right when it comes to traffic law? In almost all cases, a man may drop his pregnant wife, or even those without child as long as the parking signs don’t read “No Stopping” (see letter above). In a No Standing or No Parking zone, you may pull to the curb to expeditiously pick up or drop off passengers. Now, a nine-months pregnant wife may not do anything expeditiously but nonetheless her husband would be in the right even by N.Y.C. parking standards to let her out of the car. Carole, next time you see something like this, tell the recipient to fight the ticket and contact Transit Sam! Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
On Friday morning, I noticed a lot of traffic on the Varick St. approach to the Holland Tunnel. Is this new construction that’s beginning or was there a mishap inside the tunnel?
Gregory, W. Village
Dear Gregory,
It’s not new construction, but by coincidence, new construction is on its way come mid-April. You were caught up in a scrap of traffic as a truck lost some of its load of scrap metal inside the tunnel, resulting in a full closure till the tunnel was cleaned up. When the time comes, I’ll list detours around the upcoming project having heavy traffic implications soon. Transit Sam
Sam Schwartz, a former first deputy commissioner of city transportation, is president and C.E.O. of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a traffic engineering consulting firm to private and public entities including the Port Authority at the World Trade Center site. Email your questions to TransitSam@DowntownExpress.com
