Friday, November 16, 2018

Bad roads are to blame for added costs


From CBS 2:

A new report finds they cost drivers in our area an average of $2,800 a year.

Part of that $2,800 is spent at car mechanics, reported CBS2’s Aundrea Cline-Thomas.

Drivers consider it a necessary evil to get to work, but traffic backups and potholes are an all-too familiar site in our area.

The cost of wear and tear adds up. A new report from TRIP – a national transportation research group – found drivers in the New York City area spend nearly $2,800 a year. It’s more money spent on car repairs, wasted gas by sitting in traffic and being late for work, all because the roads are so bad.

“It’s distressing to see that here in the metro area 2/3 of pavements are in poor condition,” said Carolyn Bonifas Kelly of TRIP. “That means two out of every three miles you’re driving on you’re hitting potholes, you’re hitting rough roads.”

The larger concern is that the deteriorating infrastructure could keep more jobs from coming to the area.

Experts say the solution is more transportation funding from the state and federal government.

14 comments:

JQ LLC said...

File this study in the No Shit Sherlock department.

Also file this under how the fuck dept. too. Like how the fuck with all the money that has come to this city from tourism, from all the transients that have moved and gentrified middle and poor class areas of Manhattan, 75% of Brooklyn and Western Queens and the amount it costs to run an independent small business here and all the money that's flowing in and out in investments and purchases of luxury apartments in all the hyperdevelopment tower pestilence, that somehow there isn't/wasn't any money to maintain the roads and the rest of our infrastructure?

It's going to look a lot worse after the freezing rain and snow last night. Especially that the Sanitation Dept. neglected to salt and plow the streets in Manhattan.

Mostly, the city has to stop commissioning these redundant studies to any group with a cutesy anagram.

Here's a fun fact. Even the bike lanes have cracks and potholes. And last night, the bike lanes (and other bikers) were nowhere to be found.

Here's another fun fact, the only time the city does repaving is when there is a movie production. Here's proof from the decrepit Liberty Ave in Richmond Hill:

https://impunitycity.wordpress.com/2018/11/03/city-rolls-out-blacktop-carpet-for-film-shoot-in-richmond-hill-queens/

Joe Moretti said...

Bad Roads, Bad Sidewalks, Bad construction, Bad MTA, BAD City Hall, Bad city agencies, Bad elected officials..............................BAD EVERYTHING in this BAD CITY.

georgetheatheist said...

Rudy Giuliani. Where are you?

Anonymous said...

I've posted here several times about the fact that the majority of roads I travel in Queens have their lane markings nearly worn away, rendering them all but useless for determining what lane you're in. Couple that with a lot of burned out street lights in dark areas and serious road defects such as potholes, protruding manhole covers, waves, poorly done seams causing your car to leap and then thunk down, etc., and you're setting up excellent scenarios for accidents involving losing control, damage to cars, etc. Nor does NYC use reflective paint to mark lanes, as do many other areas. Reflective paint makes it so much easier to see the lay of the land, particularly at night and when it's raining.

I'd also like to know what geniuses have determined that it's not good to have people be able to make a left turn off Woodhaven Blvd. on to Union Turnpike. If you want to visit Stop 'n Shop or other stores in that group. You now have to travel several blocks out of your way, wasting time and gas, past Union Turnpike and execute a U turn on Woodhaven to then make a right turn onto Union Turnpike. Simply genius. As are the ludicrous red bus-only lanes creating massive congestion.

It's over a year now, and the absolutely ridiculous construction project on Jewel Avenue over the Flushing Meadow Park bridge is still going on. I finally figured out what they've been up to: making the sidewalk across the bridge about 15 feet wide! Since when do we have cars driving on the sidewalk or 8 people walking abreast? Since never--but it removes a much-needed car lane, vastly increasing congestion on a stretch of road which is the jump-off point to get on the Van Wyck, the Grand Central, or a service road to access Forest Hills. Total stupidity. And, they did not paint the curb of this monstrosity with reflective paint, making it quite possible to drive right up onto the sidewalk at night, mistaking it for a lane in its breadth. One must wonder whether the NYC traffic engineers, who surely must have graduated at the bottom of their classes, are in fact on the payroll of car mechanics or tire retailers, since people can easily damage their car running into that curb or going over it.

Anonymous said...

Its called job security. They can fix the roads alot better than what they have been doing. But if they fix them good, then the job security will be lost. Same reason why the mta never replaces the signals with new ones and just keeps fixing the old ones. It's called job security.

Gary W said...

All part of the plan that has been foretold many times on this blog.

They don't want you to own a car. A car equals freedom, something the commies and "democratic socialists" that run this city hate.

Anonymous said...

>It's over a year now, and the absolutely ridiculous construction project on Jewel Avenue over the Flushing Meadow Park bridge is still going on. I finally figured out what they've been up to: making the sidewalk across the bridge about 15 feet wide! Since when do we have cars driving on the sidewalk or 8 people walking abreast? Since never--but it removes a much-needed car lane, vastly increasing congestion on a stretch of road which is the jump-off point to get on the Van Wyck, the Grand Central, or a service road to access Forest Hills. Total stupidity. And, they did not paint the curb of this monstrosity with reflective paint, making it quite possible to drive right up onto the sidewalk at night, mistaking it for a lane in its breadth.

I know of at least a half a dozen accidents caused by these bizarre sidewalk expansions on the Jewel Ave overpass. There's no need for them - they're not bike lanes, and while there's plenty of pedestrian traffic on the overpass no one congregates. The only explanation I can find for cutting off a lane of traffic on such an already backed-up roadway is the Mayor getting revenge on KGH and Forest Hills for not voting for him.

I wish Crappy would do a post on it, it's absurd to see.

Anonymous said...

If you believe the NY election results; 60 to 70 % of motorists think the Cuomo status quo is fabulous! I hope they spend their lifelsavings in the auto body shop.

Anonymous said...

NYC roads will always be bad because of the weather.

Unless you get all those polymer engineers to design a new composite.

But wait, the greeniacs will ruin it by demanding it be biodegradable.

Guess what, our roads ARE TOO biodegradable.

Maybe we need to biodegrade the greeniacs.

Anonymous said...

Remember how NYC broke all the Gruman Flxble busses, which had survived so many other cities?

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how many roads have no lane markings all over the city.It's hard enough driving but please at least give us some lines.Maybe the line painters are too busy doing bike lanes.
When I complained to DOT they said they don't inspect the roads,they are complaint driven.So if nobody complains it doesn't get done.Most people don't bother so DOT should be on top of this.

Anonymous said...

The highways are the worst when it comes to worn markings and burned out/ defective lighting. Maybe dot can install the led fixtures parallel to the road and not angled into your windshield. Report any defect to 311 or better take a visit to your local community board and report it there.
.

Anonymous said...

NYC roads will always be bad because of the weather.
--------------------------------------------------------

The roads up in Toronto, Boston, Manchester, Vermont aint like this and they have the same amount of trucks and weight and see WORSE weather.
A big part of the problem is they dont pack, close and seal the holes correctly after work is done.
On Seneca ave workers were trying to do a neat job making nice lines around a patch with hot sealer but some slob foreman came along and said "good enough" stop wasting time

Anonymous said...

Correct most the line painters and crews are too busy doing bike lanes and it take hours and a special crew back at the shop to reconfigure the machines to pain other things.
It make no difference because the mayor doesn't want regular people to own cars. The plan is to make things as hard as possible on private anything City Hall or the Mayors office cant control.

This communism all the stupid people voted for is only going to get worse