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| Re: Pols protest S79 SBS bus lane camera 'entrapment' on Hylan Blvd in Dongan Hills (296285) | |||
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Re: Pols protest S79 SBS bus lane camera 'entrapment' on Hylan Blvd in Dongan Hills |
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Posted by BusMgr on Sun Aug 3 16:09:38 2014, in response to Re: Pols protest S79 SBS bus lane camera 'entrapment' on Hylan Blvd in Dongan Hills, posted by Terrapin Station on Thu Jul 31 09:11:13 2014. According to the rule adopted by the New York City Department of Transportation, available at the New York City Rules website, 34 RCNY § 4-12(m):"Bus lane restrictions on city streets. When signs are erected giving notice of bus lane restrictions, no person shall drive a vehicle other than a bus within a designated bus lane during the hours specified, except that a person may use such bus lane in order to make the first available right hand turn where permitted into a street, private road, private drive, or an entrance to private property in a safe manner . . . ." The text of the rule makes no mention of the 200 feet "rule" (which I suspect is either an informal understanding as enforcement, or something that may later be proposed). The right turn onto Garretson Avenue would not count as "the first available right hand turn where permitted since right turns are not permitted onto Garretson Avenue off of Hylan Blvd. However, the rule does not limit the obligation to make the first available right hand turn into only a street, but also includes private roads and private drives. Immediately before Garretson Avenue is a private drive leading into Virginia Funeral Chapel, and immediately after Garretson Avene is a private drive leading into a used van lot. Both of these private drives are permitted right hand turns off of Hylan Blvd., and depending on where the motorist actually entered the bus lane he would have been obligated under the rule to turn right into one of these private drives. In order to have complied with the rule as written, the motorist should not have moved into the bus lane until he had passed the driveway for the used van lot, for only then would Seaview Avenue have been the first available and permissible right hand turn into a street, private road, private drive. There is approximately 100 feet between the end of the used van lot driveway and the beginning of the intersection with Seaview Avenue. All that being said, the unworkability of the rule if strictly construed should be obvious. There are private driveways immediately before street intersections, leaving virtually no distance between the two in which a motorist could move into the right hand (bus) land to make the right hand turn into the street following the private driveway. Moreover, private driveways are not generally mapped, and it is virtually impossible for a motorist to know if he or she has passed the last private driveway before any particular intersecting street. Because of these practical difficulties, I would re-write the rule to read as follows: "Bus lane restrictions on city streets. When signs are erected giving notice of bus lane restrictions, no person shall drive a vehicle other than a bus within a designated bus lane during the hours specified, except that a person may use such bus lane in order to make the first available right hand turn where permitted into a street in a safe manner; or to make a right hand turn into a private road, private drive, or an entrance to private property located before the next permissible right hand turn into a street . . . ." A bit clumsy, but probably closer to the original intent. I think the motorist was in violation of the rule as strictly construed, but not in violation of the rule as intended. |
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