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City Pays $80K/month To Keep Bikers From Killing Bridge Pedestrians
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 21, 2011
Modified Sep 21, 2011
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Vincent Mounier
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 21, 2011
Modified Sep 21, 2011
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So you've been given the job of being a "pedestrian safety manager" on one of the city's Brooklyn/Manhattan bridges. From now until November 26 you have the fun duty of trying to bring peace between the bikers and walkers going over the spans between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays (noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays). What do you think your hourly salary is?
If you guessed $38-an-hour, you win! After initially avoiding the topic of how much it costs to set up glorified crossing guards on our city's bridges, the DOT finally coughed up some numbers. Which is to say, the whole pilot program is going to cost taxpayers a cool $80,000 a month. And worse, even activists aren't sure it is worth it. Especially since the guards can't issue tickets and can only try to educate.
Michael Murphy of Transportation Alternatives calls the pedestrian managers "a short-term Band-Aid," adding that "Ultimately, the best solution would be to make the roadway safe for bicycles with dedicated space and reserve the other paths for pedestrians."
Still, if it can bring a little more civility to those increasingly unruly bridges, we've heard of worse things. Now, about getting a job as a "pedestrian safety manager"...
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Garth Johnston
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