Aviously

May 17, 2014 I started to write a post about new turn rules that I thought needed to get implemented on Ocean Parkway.
I got lazy and never finished it since I wanted to add in diagrams explaining what I wanted, yet I referenced it in 2015…but now, almost three years later they’ve actually put into effect rules similar to what I had almost hit publish on.

But now we need to take a deeper look at it, and see what really needs to be done to make Ocean Parkway great again:

• The “No-Right Turns” on certain blocks is a great start. It allows for freer flowing traffic on the main strip and lets the service road have a green light, allowing them to proceed straight without needing to worry about turning traffic.
• Meanwhile, expanding the corners in the service road to two lanes allows one lane to go thru, while the other is designated for slower traffic turning onto the Avenues.
• What the city really needs to do is go all in and spend real money on this project, not just “new turn signals” and “traffic patterns”. Every block of Ocean Parkway needs a turn-off point halfway to funnel cars onto the service road for upcoming right turns so that cars never need to slow down in the main six lanes.
  They have it in one place (and one place only) and it works nicely, down near Shore Parkway approaching the Belt Parkway East entrance.

Sure it would cost lots of money, but isn’t that what tolls are supposed to be used for?

As for the politicians who have issues with the new lights…maybe the issue isn’t the lights but with poor drivers?
I have seen numerous drivers run red lights in recent weeks because they are looking at the wrong traffic signal. Why would you look half a block ahead instead of the one directly in front of you?

Let’s institute re-upping ones written road test every 10-15 years, so that people can learn what the “stop line” is for at intersections…but that’s a whole different fight.