York and Avenue 50

Upon observing the intersection of York and Avenue 50 at 1:55 pm on February 3rd we found the following:

At the intersection, there is a lane of traffic in each direction, plus two turn lanes. There is no street median. The speed limit on York is 35 mph, and cars generally followed the speed limit when in the proximity of the intersection, with some speeding up on either side. Bike lanes are existent on York, but are not well marked within the intersection.

In the intersection, the crosswalks are wide and well marked, and there are crossing signals. It appeared that drivers were conscious of crossing pedestrians.


Sidewalk amenities include benches, bike racks, and a few private patio chairs in front of Café de Leche. There are scattered street trees along the sidewalk. We found it interesting that one our side of the street there was a protected/covered bus stop, however there was only an unprotected bench on the other side- the side in the sun at this time of the afternoon.


We performed three traffic, bike and pedestrian counts for a period of three minutes each. We found that an average of 61 cars moved through the intersection during that time, as well as 1 bike and 4 pedestrians. Most pedestrians were moving directly from their cars into businesses on the street, and used the crosswalks and obeyed traffic signals if they needed to cross the street. Most people were walking alone, and similarly driving alone to their destinations.


Bike lanes are a new addition to York, however in our observations we felt that they were placed dangerously next to rows of parked cars that had to move through the bike lanes to park.

We found that sitting at the intersection was very noisy and distracting. We did more car watching than people watching, although Café do Leche was busy with people entering and exiting the whole time we were there.


















Suggestions for improving the street:
Place the bike lanes between parked cars and sidewalk, so that they are protected from fast moving cars on the street.
More public seating along the sidewalk and outside of businesses and restaurants.
Parking in the rear of businesses instead of on the street, this could free up space for a bike lane and the widening of sidewalks.

Kelsey and Grey