We all know that The Shops at Atlas Park have been on a bus rerouting frenzy in order to get more people to shop at their "upscale lifestyle center", with the first reroute being that of the Q54. However, what you may not be aware of is that the mall carved a path out of the sidewalk on Cooper Avenue to allow the bus to pull out of traffic to discharge and pick up passengers, which was supposed to prevent traffic backups. However, the buses do not utilize the stop created for their exclusive use because the curves are too narrow to allow for safe maneuvering of the vehicles, per the driver of this bus.* The drivers feel they have no choice but to drop off and pick up passengers at the curb, defeating the purpose of the pulloff, which is now just a waste of space.* amended
31 comments:
This is the most overwhelming crowd I have ever seen at the Atlas Park bus stop!
Not to defend Atlas Park, which is pretentious and sterile, but the couple of times that I've been there the bus has used the carved out path. So maybe it's up to the driver or something.
Wait, Crapper posted wrong facts and misleading information again? Shocking . . .
Ridgewoodian is full of shit (as usual). The many times DURING RUSH HOUR that I have taken this bus, it has never pulled into Atlas Park's bus stop. Since it is supposed to prevent traffic backups, you'd think if it worked, that would be the time it was used the most.
"Crapper posted wrong facts and misleading information again?"
Kind of hard to argue that when there's a photo showing the point that was made. If "some" (try most or all) of the drivers find it too cumbersome to use, then maybe it needs to be fixed. Obviously the MTA or Atlas Park never checked to see if it was being used. But they sure used it as part of the reason to reroute the bus in the first place.
Hey if what Ridgewoodian is saying is true, then I am sure the MTA, under Atlas Park owner Dale Hemmerdinger, will interview the drivers and ask them why they don't use the bus stop. Maybe I'll win MegaMillions, too.
And with the rerouting of other bus lines, just think - it will be that many more buses that don't pull out of traffic and cause backups on Cooper!
Why would Ridgewoodian take the bus there when he can bike and not pollute the atmosphere? Shame on him.
Well, Crapper said that the buses do not use the cut-out because it is to narrow and the drivers have no choice. Ridgewoodian has been on buses that used it. If true, Crapper's statement is wrong and misleading. Understand?
Ridgewoodian also said he bikes as often as he can. So why would I believe he actually took a bus to Atlas Park, which has bike racks (and a new bike store)?
PAT: Ridgewoodian is full of shit (as usual).
So, let me be clear about this: Are you saying that the times that I’ve ridden the bus there (admittedly, only a couple of times) and it has used the cut I was just WRONG, that I was foolishly relying on my own senses instead of trusting in the wisdom of Crappy? (“Whatever Crappy holds to be truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of Crappy.”) Or are you just calling me a liar? A liar for a place that I’ve already called pretentious and sterile, and, might I add, fake, uninviting, and anti-urban. Because if it’s the first you’re going to have to convince me that your perception of the world is somehow finer than mine. (And, let me be clear: I didn’t say that the buses ALWAYS use the cut, just that they have when I’ve ridden them. Maybe they don’t during rush hours and do at other times. I don’t know. Perhaps it bears looking into for those who are interested. I would suggest, though, that the issue is more complicated than an always/never duality.) And if it’s the second you really need to prove that I’m being intentionally misleading and if you can’t you goddamn well owe me an apology.
ANONYMOUS: Ridgewoodian also said he bikes as often as he can. So why would I believe he actually took a bus to Atlas Park, which has bike racks (and a new bike store)?
I can’t remember every single word I’ve put up on this site but I don’t believe I ever wrote any such thing. When I’ve written about the issue I believe that I’ve stated that I mostly bike for recreation, in parks and such, and that I’d LIKE to bike more for transportation but I’ve always found riding on the streets of this city terrifying. (During the transit strike, when I had no choice, I was nearly killed four or five times on Metropolitan Ave. by trucks.) That’s why I’m happy to see the city working to make the city more bike friendly. Call me a physical coward if you must but please don’t call me a liar.
ANONYMOUS: Why would Ridgewoodian take the bus there when he can bike and not pollute the atmosphere? Shame on him.
Point taken. See the previous paragraph, re: terror. A bus obviously doesn’t have ZERO environmental effect, and it isn’t as virtuous as a bike or one’s two feet, but when you divide its effect by the number of people it can transport it’s a not unreasonable alternative. (Although I’ve never really liked buses for reasons of comfort and I’d always prefer a train when one is available.) Anyway, it’s certainly better for the environment than a private car.
Since there was confusion about where my info came from, I amended the post.
Well if the driver feels it's unsafe, then I hope they don't use it.
AH! Maybe it IS up to the individual drivers.
I work at the mall and can tell you that the regular riders know not to wait at the cutout...they wait at the curb.
How do people in wheelchairs and the elderly manage to get up and down that curb?
They don't. Dale may face a double-whammy lawsuit one day when an old lady sues Atlas and the MTA after she falls.
Half the food in that "Farmer's Market" is sold beyond the expiration date.
Be careful when buying there.
The only thing redeeming in that Mall is the NYSC, which has far less far naked russian and bukharian jews running around the locker room with their 3 inch peckers half erect than the NYSC in Rego Park or Forest Hills.
The only thing redeeming in that Mall is the NYSC, which has far less far naked russian and bukharian jews running around the locker room with their 3 inch peckers half erect than the NYSC in Rego Park or Forest Hills.
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Go Crappy! You start where the others leave off....
Frank Bruno is still alive and living on QC.
Bus drivers often do what they want in terms of how they deal with bus stops, rather than do the correct thing. Most every day I get stuck behind a bus picking up and dropping off passengers because the driver was unwilling to pull all the way to the curb. I've generally figured that's because most car drivers won't let them back into the moving lane easily, and so they f*ck the drivers before the drivers can f*ck them.
I will say that sometimes they can't pull to the curb because a car is in the bus stop. And in the case of Atlas I will also say that there are plenty of people who are
2 cheap
2 pay
4 parking
and leave their cars along the stretch of Cooper Ave between the bus turn-in and the "81st Street" entrance to Atlas so it IS unsafe (if not impossible) for the bus to pull in. For the supplied photo in this post, you'd have to pan back about 30 ft to see if that was the case here.
Q: Why is the previous comment really stupid?
A: Because if cars parked on the street prevented the bus from using the stop, then DOT would have removed parking there. Let's remember that extensive study was conducted before this bus was rerouted.
You mean "Atlas Farce".
I think that Atlas "shrugged"
(or stopped to scratch his ass)
and dropped the ball
(globe or world) on this one!
Has anyone taken a tally of the number of words that "Ridgewoodian" has used to date ?
He's not only "full of shit",
(as one poster has indicated) but overflowing into a lake of it judging from the word count of each
ridiculous rant!
He needs a lesson
in well executed brevity!
There is no legal parking around the bus stop loop, because Cooper is posted "No Standing" or No Parking" along that stretch. Any cars you see parked in the immediate vicinity are typically placarded. Whether the placards are legit and just being used improperly, or are fakes, I can't say. But what I can say with certainty is that lots of cops use the NYSC at Atlas.
As a regular to the gym there at Atlas myself, I usually ride my bike west up Cooper. In my experience, the bus usually pulls into the loop, unless an 'illegally' parked car cuts its angle off. This is sheer speculation, but the bus driver may just have been timid.
If you don't like the situation, I suggest you call IAB. They're on a recent tear writing up tickets for and towing away improperly placarded cars.
ANONYMOUS: Has anyone taken a tally of the number of words that "Ridgewoodian" has used to date?
Seriously, is this ALL you have to say? Because you seem to say it over and over. At least I have the common courtesy to write on different subjects.
ANONYMOUS: He's not only "full of shit"...
Perhaps you noticed that Crappy amended the original post to say that his (her? its?) information was based on the testimony of the driver of the bus pictured. Are all drivers the same? Hardly. I even speculated that it might be up to the drivers. Thus far I've not heard anything that would make me disregard the evidence of my own experience.
Q: Why is the previous comment really stupid?
A: Because if cars parked on the street prevented the bus from using the stop, then DOT would have removed parking there. Let's remember that extensive study was conducted before this bus was rerouted.
DOT *did* remove parking (and standing!) there, sorry I forgot to include that detail--and thanks for reminding me that people like to shoot their mouths off especially when they don't know the details of the situation.
How about ASKING whether there were any DOT signs restricting parking there if you're not familiar with the site? Oh, wait, I forgot--because you also believe that an "extensive study was conducted before this bus was rerouted." Making it clear that you're the stupid one: I am sure that it's more like an extensive request was made by the mall representatives, and a study was conducted in a way to make sure it backed up that request.
"Making it clear that you're the stupid one: I am sure that it's more like an extensive request was made by the mall representatives, and a study was conducted in a way to make sure it backed up that request."
You mean the MTA lied to us? Shocking! They recently sent a 3 page letter to CB5 about how they studied different ways to reroute the Q45 to minimize impact on the neighborhood. So I guess it's all a bunch of hooey. And I had been fooled into thinking this was all about improving transit for people who never asked for bus service to the mall. Thanks for opening our eyes!
If placarded cars are parking there, then why isn't Hemmerdinger complaining to the brass? Oh that's right, he doesn't really care if the bus uses the stop, it's already been rerouted to help him out.
Confirmed: today at 2PM, three cars in the restricted space; three placards from three different agencies. I wonder if these guys are on the clock while in the gym; or are they working at Atlas, perhaps? Anyway, photos taken of cars, plates,and placards.
Atlas security should call a tow truck on their ass. But they probably were told not to. Why? It doesn't matter now! The bus has already been rerouted.
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