Vehicles use Watts Street (from West Street) to attempt to cross into the Holland Tunnel Lanes.This means they block the pedestrian crosswalk and also the Eastbound through lane for Canal St.This causes a traffic backup both on Canal Street and also on Watts Street often back to West St.As I write this, an ambulance is trying to make its way through 2 "lanes" of traffic on Watts to get to Canal St.Yesterday, two vehicles drove onto the sidewalk to get around the blocked lanes.This has happened while I have walked with my son and a car appeared next to us on the sidewalk.As I write, I have been listening to incessant honking for hours.This is beyond what should be expected of any NY resident as the streets are left unmanaged (DAILY) and out of town vehicles are allowed to make our streets unsafe and our living unbearable, all without consequence.
Trucks and cars come off Manhattan bridge too fast and too aggressive. Danger to pedestrians.
There is insufficient time for pedestrians to cross from one side of Canal to the other. The light changes too quickly. Especially since there are a lot of senior citizens in the area
Wider sidewalks would make it safer for pedestrians and result in less traffic lanes and less speeding.
Tset
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Cars are frequently blocking the crosswalk and making it really unsafe for pedestrians to cross. Needless to say, people on wheelchairs, elderly people, parents with strollers, etc. are more exposed.
This intersection of Canal and Allen has great potential but remains one of the least-pedestrian friendly intersections in the neighborhood. The impact on street life is clearly visible when compared to the blocks in almost any other direction. DOT has made strides improving Allen Street, but it still often feels like a raceway with drivers speeding up or down to the East River arteries. The protected bikelane is great, but it too has proven to be so popular and relatively uninterupted that bikers and particularly motorized bikers and deliverymen use it like a bike freeway. I've personally witnessed several accidents of bikers and pedestrians blindsided by other bikers going faster than the car traffic, or zig zagging around the double parked intercity bus traffic on both Allen and Canal. Some calming measures to slow down cars and bikes at intersections would help, as would completing the Allen mall upgrades and fixing the street grading on Canal at Allen that floods in the rain with huge puddles forcing pedestrians to jump out into the car lanes.
There are several mini-distribution centers located here. They operate early in the day (5am to late morning), and when operating see intense delivery and pick up traffic with front loaders, pallets, and truck double parking. This spills across the roadway lanes, which is particularly problematic for Allen St's many MTA buses, fire trucks, private intercity buses, and large delivery trucks to pass, causing minor backups and lots of early morning honking (including the airhorns of stuck fire/EMS/police vehicles) at this critical stretch intersecting Canal St. Assuming this distribution facility is vital for supporting Chinatown's great local businesses, the use itself is not problematic--the primary problem is the informal spillover that suddenly cuts down the travel lanes, creating a bottleneck. Could DOT help with some simple measures to efficiently separate the distribution traffic from the through traffic? A few ideas: traffic cones separating lanes at peak AM hours, special loading designations ton the street itself to help organize loading zones, more reserved curbside commercial space at key hours.
This far eastern end of Canal Street is significantly different than the other areas of the street, with far less traffic. DOT should take advantage of this by fostering a pedestrian and community friendly street environment by building on previous successes: the temporary open streets temporary closures of Canal between Orchard and Essex as well as the popular plazas on Division/Canal and Canal at East Broadway. Investing in more permanent and expanded plaza and pedestrian space, including further down Division, would support business and the community while also discouraging drivers who speed through this area because of the relative lack of car traffic on Canal, which poses extra risk given that pedestrians see that same lack of traffic as a reason to be more relaxed and make vibrant use of the street. DOT should help cement the status of this eastern end of Canal near Seward Park as one of the area's great neighborhood hubs.
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