Cities across the country are reworking the way they design roads to make them safer for cyclists and pedestrians, but none as aggressively as NYC. Check out this great little video a New Yorker made charting the traffic flow—and rampant conflicts—in just one intersection of the city. I don’t know of any this bad in Portland, but it kind of reminds me of the intersections at West Burnside/Couch and Broadway (Also: It’s set to excellent music.)

Hat tip to Tom and MMWW

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

11 replies on “3-Way Street”

  1. That was pretty awesome. Sure makes it obvious that the root cause of most traffic problem is the root cause of most other problems: jerks.

  4. Holy shit. I don’t remember it being that bad when I spent two weeks every month there for business ten-plus years ago. I mean, the bike messengers were always retarded, but that looks like double or triple the number of cyclists I remember…

    Well, I’m headed back tomorrow morning. Better start working on my clothesline arm maneuver.

  5. I don’t have time to find it now, but I encourage folks to look up non-managed roadways in other countries. It looks like chaos, but it’s a constant negotiation for space and right-of-way. I enjoy it.

  7. Looks like your average intersection in New York. Bikes going the wrong way down one way streets, cars swerving into oncoming traffic to pass other cars, pedestrians jaywalking, lots of cursing and honking. Nothing to see here.

  8. I flew into downtown Manhattan to buy a vintage Ferrari, and had to drive it out in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. Manual transmission, and it kept stalling because it hadn’t been driven in a while. Was just a super stressful experience – made me feel like a hick, scared of the big busy city.

  11. And all those pedestrians are out on the scary street (instead of the safe sidewalk) waiting for the light to turn green/traffic to clear. Baaad.

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