This is certainly not what the (excellent) video is advocating... it's just a cautionary note that when you start removing some of the space from parked cars, be careful that space doesn't get reallocated to moving cars.

It's increasing the sight lines by widening the periphery.

By moving the vehicles back from the intersection by approximately one car length, those approaching to cross the intersection have a better view of traffic approaching or at the intersection.

To those who claim that pedestrians can move off the sidewalk and use the parked car as kind of a barrier need to consider that such action may set drivers moving through the intersection for a traffic ticket, depending on how the officer interprets and applies the law. I have seen tickets issued with a pedestrian stepped off the curb mid-block as a driver went by, never mind there wasn't an intersection right there and even had the driver slammed on his brakes, he would have been beyond the pedestrian by the time he came to a stop. Even if such tickets get dismissed in the end, it costs everyone time and money needlessly.

I would prefer to see such daylighting measures include building up a bulb-out or something to provide a physical barrier and discourage parking. As many can attest, open pavement that is not physically blocked off will become a parking spot, even if illegally.

In "before," the parked cars constrain the moving auto, provide a barrier protection for the pedestrians and reduce the effective crossing distance.

In "after," the peds are much more exposed to the vicissitudes of the approaching motorist.

But, then again, I'm not crazy about bike boxes either .

Also roads narrowed by parked cars don't seem to have any effect on NYC drivers especially when you add the enhanced speed effect you get when driving down roads with very tall buildings on either side. I think you can throw out the most basic traffic calming rules with NYC drivers. It seems only extreme traffic calming measures could have any effect here.

Another thought: we get automatic daylighting when there's a fire hydrant at a corner! Take a moment to appreciate the street view the next time you visit a corner with that piece of street furniture. Not only does it improve your experience, it can save lives, and become a play sprinkler in the summers. Oh, yes, of course dogs like them too (is it the competitive hydrant instinct?)

Daylighting is not really for the people crossing the street from which the parking is removed, though it helps visibility for them.

What daylighting is REALLY for is the people who are crossing the cross-street! Imagine a vehicle approaching an intersection, and that vehicle is going to make a turn onto the cross-street. The vehicle has a green light at the same time that peds crossing the cross-street have a walk signal - so everybody goes! And therein lies the danger - the biggest killer of pedestrians, I believe - the right-hook (or left-hook).

If the driver is unaware that someone is crossing because of a combination of poor visibility, excessive speed, and unwillingness to yield (aggressiveness), the pedestrian pays the price. If we remove the obstacles to the driver's field of view, we can at least hope that the driver will be motivated to not run over the people who he or she can now see clearly.

When NYC DOT proposed daylighting along the length of Washington St. in the West Village that you show in the video, they had very good visuals as to why daylighting was helpful - especially on the left-side for left-turns, due to the geometry of the driver sitting on the left. We (the Community Board) have taken the extra step, now, to push for replacement uses for those daylighted spaces - bike parking, greening, and amenities like benches, where neighbors can enjoy their community. As we all know, a spot marked "No Parking" or "No Standing" is a welcome mat for large delivery trucks - the worst vehicle imaginable in a spot that was supposed to be for daylighting!

And people frequently queue up on the asphalt, basically in the street, behind the protection of a parked cars (could be a bulbout). This decreases the effective crossing distance which is huge for pedestrian safety.

A GREAT IDEA.

DAVE W. BROOKLYN, NY

Daylighting = New Corners or the P Walk.

---a very large percentage of people in the city use mass transit and walk or bicycle to their jobs and schools-they do not have the safety of a car with airbags of metal to protect them----they have rights as well---and they are the ones taking a risk day after day.....Great topic Clarence---keep up the good work and public awareness.

But removing the parked cars as a safety tool? One can currently treat the parked cars as bulb outs of sorts; while waiting to cross the street, stand near the end of the car bumper, not on the curb. The short street crossing benefit of the bulb out is already present.

Instead of aiding safety, removing the car parking without installing a bulb out or bike corral may have the effect of increasing the turning radius available to cars approaching the intersection, thus encouraging speeding. The cars currently parked at the intersection, ugly as they are, have a slight traffic calming effect because they narrow the roadway in the eyes of the motorist.