Must read: Aaron Naparstek’s lengthy treatise on Bollards, the hardened steel, concrete or stone posts buried into the pavement of city streets and sidewalks:
“In Northern European cities, you see bollards all over the place. They are used to make sure that if a motor vehicle accidentally jumps up on to a sidewalk, pedestrians are protected. Bollards are a kind of urban preventative medicine. They stop crashes before they happen.”
“We have bollards in New York City. But … rather than using them to protect people, we use them to protect things — fire hydrants, pay phones and important buildings into which we believe terrorists might want to drive car bombs.”
“…There is often a sense in New York City that motor vehicle traffic is akin to a natural phenomenon… we’ve become conditioned to motor vehicle carnage as the natural order of things … It’s no wonder. In the same week that the Reyes family was run over there were at least three incidents of vehicles jumping up onto the sidewalk and doing serious damage to people and property in Park Slope, Brooklyn, my neighborhood.”
“Bollards are cheap and easy. Even some of the most run-down and industrial parts of East Berlin have pedestrian bollards … We could afford this if we wanted. We could show they are successful and worth it …”
“This sad state of affairs on NYC’s streets is slowly beginning to change. Last year, a group of Park Slope advocates, myself included, teamed up with the Prospect Heights Parents Association and Transportation Alternatives and successfully lobbied DOT to install protective bollards around the intimidating traffic island in the middle of Flatbush Avenue between Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Public Library.
“It’s not ideal. The traffic signals are still timed in such a way that they trap pedestrians on the island in the middle of Flatbush. They could have done much better.”
LINK: Making NYC’s Streets Safe for Hydrants & Pay Phones [naparstek.com]
“People often ask ‘Is karaoke Japanese for “Empty Audience” or “Empty Orchestra”? You’ll have to judge for yourself. Karaoke Big Ass Ham (KBAH) is the low-tech sing-along night at 
Thanks to set speed aka onehansonplace.com for giving us the link to his 
One of the most unfathomable DOT decisions in recent Prospect Heights history — leaving aside for a moment the virtually useless and largely ornamental expansion of the “pedestrian island” where Flatbush Avenue meets Grand Army Plaza — is the decision to renovate a massive stretch of the Eastern Parkway median and yet somehow neglect the last few blocks from Brooklyn Museum up to Grand Army Plaza. That stretch, pretty much the public face of Prospect Heights to the millions of outsiders who come to visit the Museum, zoo, botanical garden and library.
So the money finally came through, and yesterday in front of the Brooklyn Museum, Mayor Bloomberg and Congressman Owens jointly announce their funding of the $5.9 million dollar project to renovate the Eastern Parkway median and the Washington Avenue/Eastern Parkway intersection.
metulj writes: “AGGGGGGHHHHHH! It’s like London without the bad food* and with cheaper rents — for now.”