Posts Tagged Tax Dollars Asleep
Burnett Blvd Signals: Five More Seconds!
Posted by Ed in Photography & Images, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-10-04
My most recent description of not quite getting killed in front of the NYS DOT Region 8 office evidently did some good. Although I wasn’t informed directly, this happened:
The minimum green time was increased to 10 seconds.
Which is five more seconds more than before, allowing us to get nearly all the way through the intersection before crossing traffic on Rt 55 gets a green light.
As before, the numbers are video frames at 60 fps.
T=0.0 – Burnett signal goes green:
Burnett – New signal timing – 0101 – 2018-09-30
T=2.5 – The trailer ahead of us starts and we’re rolling:
Burnett – New signal timing – 0251 – 2018-09-30
T=8.0 – We reach the Burnett crosswalk. Note the car beside us isn’t making much headway, either:
Burnett – New signal timing – 0581 – 2018-09-30
T=11.93 – Burnett signal goes yellow overhead, so the green phase lasted 12 seconds:
Burnett – New signal timing – 0817 – 2018-09-30
T=16.16 – Rt 55 signal remains red, but will change within a second:
Burnett – New signal timing – 1071 – 2018-09-30
Seen from the rear view camera, the Rt 55 signal went green while we were still in the intersection:
Burnett – New signal timing – 16 s – crossing green – 2018-09-30
You’ll note the cars on Rt 55 behind us weren’t visible three seconds earlier, so, as far as they can tell, we’re running the red.
Fortunately, we’re almost where we need to be:
Burnett – New signal timing – 22 s – traffic – 2018-09-30
The timing still isn’t safe, but after three years, five more seconds counts for a lot!
Brush Clearing
Posted by Ed in Photography & Images, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-09-30
Some recent brush-clearing along our usual bicycle routes:
The bushes with oval leaves are Blackthorn, of which Wikipedia says “The shrub, with its savage thorns, is traditionally used […] to make a cattle-proof hedge.” They’re commonly found along the untamed border of Rt 376, as well as the rail trail.
It’s more effective than expecting my tax dollars to wake up and get to work …
Dutchess Rail Trail: Maloney Rd Trailhead vs. SUV
Posted by Ed in Oddities, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-09-05
The driver gave us plenty of room, which is always nice:
Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – DCWWA SUV on Maloney 2018-08-20
But then the SUV turned into the Maloney Rd entrance to the Dutchess Rail Trail:
Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – DCWWA SUV entering – 2018-08-20
Which was specifically designed to exclude motor vehicles:
Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – DCWWA SUV tracks – 2018-08-20
Later, I was told it’s an “allowable access” for Water Authority vehicles and, in any event, because their SUV didn’t leave the biggest ruts and tracks, they think it’s all good:
Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – 2018-08-20
The ramp joins the trail at an acute angle, so the SUV required some backing & filling to get around:
Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – Tight Turn onto DCRT – 2018-08-20
Then it’s an easy drive to the water meter about 2500 feet down the trail:
Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – Dutchess Water Authority SUV – 2018-08-20
There’s an Official Vehicle Access gate one mile south of the Maloney ramp that’s about 3800 feet from the water meter. I’m told they use the Maloney ramp to reduce the distance they drive on the rail trail; evidently, destroying the entrance Just Doesn’t Matter.
I’m trying to develop an attitude between Zen and apathy, with just enough indifference to not care when somebody tells me how wonderful things will be in the future.
Burnett Blvd at Rt 55: More Speed On Red
Posted by Ed in Photography & Images, Recumbent Bicycling, Science on 2018-08-17
We’re waiting at the end of Burnett Blvd, with the signal red and the clock at T = -0.17 seconds (photo numbers in 1/60 second frames):
RedRunner-0194
You can’t hear the car (barely visible) approaching on the far left, but we can.
T = 0.00 – We get a green light and the (more visible) car is accelerating hard:
RedRunner-0204
T = 1.00 – The car reaches the crosswalk:
RedRunner-0264
Note that the driver of the car to our right isn’t moving, either.
T = 2.03 – Car passes through intersection:
RedRunner-0326
The view from above, showing the distance between those two positions is 100 feet:
Burnett at Rt 55 – Distance along Rt 55
Do the math: 100 ft / 1.03 s = 97 ft/s = 66 mph.
There’s a reason we don’t start moving instantly when a traffic signal turns green.
T = 3.17 – We start moving, as does the car to our right, with our signal still green:
RedRunner-0394
T = 4.88 – Whoops, our signal turns yellow:
RedRunner-0497
T = 9.28 – Our signal turns red:
RedRunner-0761
The signal timing hasn’t changed over the years:
- Green = 4.88 s
- Yellow = 4.40 s
Elapsed time from green to red: 9.28 seconds. No problem if you’re a car, death if you’re a bike.
T = 10.42 – We’re pedaling hard in the intersection:
RedRunner-0829
The white car to our far right started moving into the intersection about the time we did. If you’re going to say we shouldn’t run the light, you gotta deal with cars first, OK?
Note the car approaching from the right on the far side of Rt 55. That’s a 40 mph zone, the driver sees a green light, and we’re still in the intersection.
T = 12.50 – We’ve been moving for 9.33 s, which puts Mary directly in the path of the oncoming car:
RedRunner-0954
T = 14.83 – The oncoming driver having spotted us and slowed down, we’re asymptotically approaching the right-hand lane of Rt 55, passing beyond the steel manhole cover:
RedRunner-1067
If you plunk “burnett signal” into the search box at the upper right, you’ll find plenty of previous incidents along these lines.
Despite bringing this hazard to their attention many times (“We appreciate and share your interest in making our highway systems safe and functional for all users.“), NYS DOT obviously doesn’t care.
If any of their employees commuted to their office building (which overlooks this very intersection), perhaps they would care, but they don’t: we have yet to see a bicycle in the DOT’s token bike rack.
DOT says they’re in favor of Complete Streets, but, seven years on, it’s just another day on the only route between Arlington and the Overocker Trailhead of the Dutchess County Rail Trail.
Rt 376 at Red Oaks Mill: Re-repaving
Posted by Ed in Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-07-16
For unknown reasons, NYS DOT milled away some of the newly laid asphalt north of Red Oaks Mill:
Rt 376 Red Oaks Mill – New Pavement Milling
Then laid it down again:
Rt 376 Red Oaks Mill – New Pavement – 2018-06-14
As far as we can tell, there’s absolutely no difference, other than the opportunity for a huge longitudinal crack between the shoulder and the travel lane.
My guess: the contractor shorted them an inch of asphalt, got caught, and had to do it over again.
It’s only NYS Bike Route 9, so you can’t expect much in the way of bicycle-friendly design or build quality.
Rt 376 Overgrowth: Red Oaks Mill to Maloney Rd
Posted by Ed in Photography & Images, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-06-05
The weeds are once again taking over the shoulder along Rt 376 south of Red Oaks Mill:
New shoots from the Japanese Knotweed stand just north of Maloney Rd have begun punching through the asphalt along the edge of the shoulder.
This section is in the purview of NYS DOT’s Dutchess South Residency, extending south of Red Oaks Mill to the end of Rt 376 near Hopewell. In contrast, DOT’s Dutchess North Residency continues to keep Rt 376 well-trimmed northward from Red Oaks Mill to Poughkeepsie. I’ve never gotten any explanation why the two Residencies have such strikingly different weed-control standards.
Primo Comet vs. Green Glass Chip: Kevlar FTW!
Posted by Ed in Machine Shop, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-05-31
The gashes don’t look like much:
Primo Comet gash – tread view
Not even from the side:
Primo Comet gash – side view
When they happened, I knew where to look, because the Kevlar-belted Primo Comet had two conspicuous bulges surrounding debris jammed between the tread and the carcass along the sidewall: the gashes were wide open!
Much to my astonishment, the tire hadn’t gone instantly flat.
Some screwdriver probing in the leftmost gash produced this nasty glass chip:
Primo Comet gash – chip side view
AFAICT, the smooth side slid over the internal Kevlar belt as the edge sliced between the rubber tread and the carcass. I think the top entered first, with the somewhat crushed end hitting the pavement on each revolution:
Primo Comet gash – chip edge view
The other gash emitted a somewhat smaller chip.
I rode over something crunchy, most likely the remains of a beer bottle, in a shaded section along Rt 376, and we stopped a few driveways later to diagnose a once-per-revolution thump from the front tire. The tube still wasn’t losing pressure, even after extracting the glass, so I continued the mission; it was a fine day for a ride!
I later filled those gashes (plus a few others) with silicone rubber to keep grit out. It’s surely a feel-good gesture, but maybe it’ll help the tire reach the end of its tread life.
You can judge our “riding environment” by the tire’s condition …
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