Text and Photos by Toby Tenenbaum, reader/reporter
Amsterdam Avenue was completely closed down at West 80th Street on Thursday morning after a truck carrying a car, spun a car on the road around 180 degrees so it was facing the opposite direction.
According to the driver of the car on the road, the truck made way for him, then sped up, causing his vehicle to spin.
EMS is on the scene and, as of 9:48 a.m., Amsterdam Avenue remains closed north of 80th Street.
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Wow. I just saw this happen. WSR is fast:)
Not to excuse anyone causing this accident but you positively can hardly get through this area because there are restaurant sheds on both sides of the street! We have areas where because of it and double-parking trucks, one lane of traffic is left open. The arrogance of current elected leaders is stunning to pretend that trucks and cars should not have access to our streets and be placed in such dangerous road situations. Lucky no one was sitting in those sheds when this happened.
It should be less hectic once they implement tolls below 96th street.
LOL Below 60th St. and that’s not going be for another couple years if at all.
It’s below 60th St not 96th.
No not really because people coming in from N.J. will be looking to not pay the tolls & looking to park in our neighborhood to park & then just take the trains downtown so we will have fewer spots to park & more traffic for us.
Once a regressive tax is imposed on those least able to pay, traffic may be less. Let them eat cake, but don’t let them drive.
In total agreement with you. Want to add, that these obstacles have caused road signs to be repainted so that drivers (me!) are totally confused. Just try turning left onto 66th St. from Amsterdam. Or up in the 80’s there are several nutty turns painted on the street so you don’t know what to do, when to turn, etc.
I agree with Susan. The bike lane, the bus lane, the restaurant sheds and plus, the double parked cars and delivery trucks, we end up with narrower roads. That is why it takes a longer time for the fire trucks and the emergency vans to go through. And with that, much longer and louder sirens. Let’s take back our streets and sidewalks.
If you look closely at the photo you will notice that there are actually 3 lanes for traffic at that location on Amsterdam. The real problem other than a driver unsuccessfully attempting to squeeze through, is the Fedex truck double parked, blocking the east lane of traffic. The sheds are occupying “parking spots” on either side of the avenue-not traffic lanes. If they were not there those spots would be filled with parked cars. Without double parked trucks there would be 3 lanes of flowing traffic. Seems to me that the double parked trucks are the real issue here. Removing the sheds would not increase the flow of traffic.
Many of those sheds are in commercial parking spaces. Since they are occupied by dining sheds, FedEx/UPS trucks have no choice but to unload in the travel lane.
The only trucks I ever see using the commercial parking zones are contractors. Lots of plumbers and electricians etc. But delivery trucks double park even when there are commercial spaces half a block away.
Double parking by delivery trucks long predated the sheds.
TJC,
E commerce has transformed/impacted NYC.
Huge number of delivery vehicles and loss of neighborhood shops.
Yes many of those sheds on Amsterdam AND Columbus are in commercial metered parking spaces. Pre-COVID deliveries would use those parking spaces. Local residents/area workers wouldn’t even use those spots because they’re metered until 7 PM.
Completely agree.
Why is it that 95% of the issues we see on the WSR are due to a lack of police enforcement?
The police station is only 2 blocks away & I have never ever seen any police giving a ticket for the trucks double parking on both sides of the Ave.. In fact, when do you ever see the police walking the neighborhood??
Commercial vehicles are allowed to double park so long as they are actually engaged in delivery or service in the immediate area. It’s legal..
I am sure you have been checking this. Since the police do not, I guess you will check if they are double parking is ok.
Two things Robert, NYPD do not give out tickets to double parked vehicles. That is handled by the Parking Enforcement (DOT) and double park trucks are legal if delivering.
I am simply relating what the rules allow. It’s part of the job of traffic enforcement personnel to make some effort to discern whether the operator of a double parked truck is actually engaged in a job before writing a summons.
How dare those sheds jump out and cause a traffic accident! /s
If the sheds weren’t there, parking spaces filled with cars would take up the same area of the roadway.
The real issue are the double parked vehicles on both sides of the avenue, and NYPD nonexistent enforcement of traffic laws.
If those bike lanes weren’t there, the sheds would not be in the way!
It’s quite obvious it’s too much going on. You got the sheds taking up a lane, Then you have a bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue…. that’s two lanes which only leaves two real narrow lanes in the middle and much too narrow for trucks to maneuver especially if they’re double parking.
A disaster waiting to happen and it did!
Dan.
Actually many sheds are wider than cars – check out the sheds on side streets.
The sheds also impact visibility and endanger bicyclists and pedestrians
Are you saying the sheds on side streets are wider than the sheds on the avenues? Looks to me like they still take up just one lane.
Few cars are as wide as the lane demarcation but most shed structures utilize the entire lane (logically as they get more free space).
It is easier to see on side streets.
Could not agree more.
The space occupied by the restaurant sheds was never open to traffic though. It was always used for parking. There hasn’t been any reduction in the amount of space for cars to move.
I’m no friend of cars generally but sidewalk sheds need to end. Health emergency is over.
Why when someone doesn’t like something do they attribute it to “the arrogance of current elected leaders”? Why is it so hard for some people to appreciate that their view could be (indeed, probably is) a minority view?
Yes. Some companies are printing Regan Bush apparel and accessories. I saw a Regan Bush ’84 tank top on a guy at the IMSA race at Lime Rock Park this past Saturday.
I saw a sticker on a wheelchair in Riverside that read “Kamala & Hunter ’24”
So many things to learn in the WSR comments!
Folks want their ecommerce, their Trader Joe’s groceries, food/supplies delivered to their favorite restaurants – and complain about vehicles.
Driving a truck is hard, stressful, lonely and dangerous and not well-paid for all that.
BTW originally DOT would not add bike lanes to Amsterdam because it was too narrow.
With bike lanes and restaurant shacks, Amsterdam is chaos.
Someone was driving too quickly. The tighter the squeeze, the more tentative should be the driving. No excuses.
COVID is practically over. Everyone is back again coughing in front of each other and nobody flinches. Time for those horrible sheds to be torn down. These restaurants are claiming additional real estate and probably paying much less than the average UWSider’s footage rate.
But that’s not the point. These sheds came up because of the fears of COVID contamination. This is not 2021 anymore, Dorothy.NYC.gov. Mr. Adams, tear down those sheds!!!
I doubt covid is over. It’s clear we’re all really tired of it. 3 years is a long time. But it ain’t over till it’s over (to quote a famous New Yorker). When we can be permanently vaccinated against ever getting it — it’ll be over. Without a doubt when the weather changes and we’re all forced back indoors again, it’ll begin again. No doubt with a mutation. Don’t let your guard down yet. Keep washing hands after touching surfaces touched by others. Keep your coughs to yourself.
“Nobody flinches”? “Tear down those sheds”? “Fears of contamination” — it’s more accurate and less inflammatory to say “[legitimate] concerns about contagion.” In addition to CDC monitoring reports and assessing the epidemiology, take public transit and observe both caution and overconfidence/denial. Fatalities have been greatly reduced, but COVID lingers.
Do transportation engineers exist anymore? You know, those people who used to analyze street flow and traffic and other obstacles for efficiency? I’d prefer we hire more of them vs. some of the other positions that keep getting approved. Someone needs to have a serious look at the sheds, the construction sites that often take up huge amounts of space to store equipment and vehicles, the delivery worker huddle spaces, and all the restricted areas. What is going on, seriously?
DOT is mostly run by policy staff, who are mostly interested in bicycling.
Thank you! AGREED!!!
The traffic engineers dont live in the real world. FYI, they closed the entrance to the ws highway @ 96 off of riverside. So…all the traffic goes on west end. During rush hours (and many other times as well) the traffic is backed up 3-4 blocks North AND South of 96 st on west end. In front of PS 75. before the entrance was closed West End was a lot quieter and safer.
I see the main issue here is the speeding by cars especially tractor trailers. These are city streets not the west side highway or FDR drive.
Agree with Susan.
Roads were made for cars and used to be six lanes. Now they are reduced to 1 or 2 lanes and cars are frowned upon.
They think it’s better to give the space to restaurants, pedestrians and bikes.
What avenues ever had six lanes of traffic?
The roads were there long before there were any cars.
In fact it is better to give the space to restaurants, pedestrians and bikes.
There’s a lot of excuses being made for what amounts to bad driving.
If there is a truck double parked in a situation like this, another truck should not park right across from it and narrow the road down so much. I am not sure how the police would determine who got there first.
There should be incentives to encourage trucks to make deliveries overnight when there is far less traffic. This would greatly simplify things. I know that those who live over stores getting late night deliveries will complain about the noise, but such is life – there is a reason some of us choose not to live on major avenues, and it generally isn’t that loud.
Kudos to Toby Tenenbaum for the chuckle in the article title!
I cannot see for certain but that tractor trailer looks very long. Did you know that the law prohibits any trucks over 55′ bumper to bumper from ALL NYC streets? This means that every 53′ trailer and almost all 48′ trailers (depending on cab size) are illegal yet they fly up and down Amsterdam (and many other streets) day and night. There is ZERO excuse for the utter lack of enforcement by DOT and NYPD (and Port Authority for that matter).
Year to date, the 20, 24, and 26 have not issued a single violation for an oversized vehicle.
Did you also know that unless a truck is picking up or dropping on the exact block of a side street, they are not permitted to drive on that street? We have very defined truck routes in this city but the authorities rarely enforce them and wayfinding apps take trucks through residential areas in the hopes of shaving .3 seconds off of a trip.
Finally, to the person who suggested that trucks should be encouraged to drive at night or off hours….Congestion Pricing would do this 🙂
Trucks are given leeway of about 5 blocks to deviate from truck routes if they are making a delivery. Many trucks already do drive at night. Congestion pricing won’t encourage anything, they’ll just pass the higher costs onto customers and there’s many people that will gladly pay in Manhattan.
There is not supposed to be leeway. Trucks are allowed to use non truck routes only for making a delivery and their route must be the most efficient off the route. Not that their route has to be the most efficient route from point A to point B, but they have to be off route for the least amount of time. And they can only travel off route from point A to point B if their route does not cross a truck route. But NYPD never enforces any of this. Even when an off route driver strikes and kills a person, they ignore the truck route aspect.
This is perhaps the worst are to drive in all of the UWS. Amsterdam between 79st to 81st has been a nightmare since sheds were allowed. Most of the parking here is for commercial. Vehicles in this 2 block span which has been gobbled up by sheds and mostly construction on the east side on Amsterdam between 80th and 81st.
This area is usually a very heavy 1 lane street. Double parked trucks did pre date covid but not to thos extent.
Dining sheds are useless these days. They practically eliminate the bike lane because cyclists are too scared to use the lane.
Dining sheds are not nearly as filled as they were during the pandemic. All dining sheds are doing now is causing a mess and the city is subsidizing the restaurant industry with free rent.
Get rid of all the sheds now.
Yes Republicans exist on the UWS. Yes there’s conservative TLC drivers (the plate of the car that was struck has TLC plates).
I think the comment had more to do with the fact that that election was a very long time ago.
Sheds do not cause accidents but cars do + create pollution. I like the sheds. I get pleasure from seeing people enjoy themselves.
Do you also enjoy knowing you’re sitting on rat heaven? Under each shed is a thriving community and maternity ward – it’s truly the stuff of nightmares at night!! The roads have not been cleaned in over three years making the sludge filled sides of every shed full of cigarette butts gum food etc – there isn’t even regulations about cleaning up around them (as if being a good neighbor for the free real estate never occurred!!) so enjoy these shacks of vermin and built up dirt & grime-bon appetit!!
Sheds are practically empty except for a select few. Other hours and days they take up space for no reason.
They’ve all but killed bike lanes.
They should all be removed.
To the degree they actually deleted the towing impound lot in Manhattan. There is, besides ticketing, zero enforcement on double parked delivery trucks in that happens now. Any 3 Lane Ave. is a one lane Avenue all day. This is a public safety issue. Boy if I were king… If I were king, I feel like I would roll out a solution on this overnight. All these restaurant and retail stores would only be allowed to have delivery during off hours. That was easy. How about a special drivers license that’s costs $1000 a year to drive a CDL into Manhattan? How about one for 6am to 6pm and one for 6pm to 6am? how about a super cheap drivers license for electric bicycles while we are at it just to get these things registered ? How about cops that are willing to get out of their cars? Just thoughts. lived here 23 years now, Covid, Obama, trump, Bloomberg, cranes falling, immigrants, all signs are pointing me toward the country life for retirement. Where’s my acre and mule ? I think I’m ready