In Celebration of Accidental Traffic Calming Along First Ave

Biking through the East Village over the past week, I've been pleasantly surprised by how slow traffic has been moving up First Avenue as a result of the asphalt being stripped in preparation for repaving (see photo).
Even though the rougher surface makes for slower biking, I actually found myself able to relax much more than usual while traveling along First because rather than racing to beat the lights, traffic along the Avenue had slowed considerably to contend with the rougher street surface.
In no way did these slower speeds result in vehicular traffic becoming crowded or blocked up along First Avenue and the "time lost" by motorists by having to reduce their maximum speeds to 20 or 25mph probably only lengthened their trips by a matter of seconds, while making life much more pleasant for cyclists and pedestrians.
It made me wish the city, in addition to constructing dedicated bike and bus lanes along the eastern avenues, would also consider traffic calming measures.

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