A couple of months ago, police launched a campaign to educate bicyclists about the rules of the road in Central Park. Bicyclists are supposed to stop at stoplights just like cars would — and at the very least they need to stop when pedestrians are attempting to cross the road.
This is not happening.
In fact, on a ride around the Central Park loop road last weekend, I saw a Central Park Conservancy truck and a police car pass right through a stop light at the southern end of the park. Not a blinking red. A solid red. They did not appear to be heading to an emergency.
Bicyclists continue to zip through stoplights throughout the park, even when people are waiting to cross (to get through, you generally have to put life and limb at risk and step into the way). A woman waiting with a stroller as bikes whizzed by in the Northeast corner of the park, said “Wow, not even stopping for a stroller!” Pedicabs are among the worst offenders.
Anyway, we’ve written about this issue before, and maybe there are no easy solutions. But with the current situation, there’s no question someone is going to get hit badly again.
They need to ban cyclists from pedestrian walkways if they won’t abide by the rules.
Better still – TEAR OUT all the bike lanes on our metropolitan
routes and commandeer 5th avenue (center of the island) for bicyclists. Not only will traffic become normal, accidents between unlicensed and licensed drivers will disappear.
The purpose of the bike lanes in NY is not GRREN. It serves to ticket new yorkers and increase city revenue – with a bad safety risk.
Not only will a bike 5th avenue be greener (no carbon monoxide for peddlers), but accidents between bicyclists will be settled without litigation (arguments on 5th- a new reality show could be made)
Why is the WSR so anti-cyclist? The cyclists are not the problem. Pedestrians and Carriages pushers are the problem. If you’re approaching a roadway of any kind (and I’m not referring to the paths, where cyclists are not allowed anyway), LOOK BOTH WAYS. Why does this essential childhood premise not apply to UWSer’s in Central Park? The cyclists are focused and watching where they are going so they do not crash. Pedestrians, in the road, are not. Therein lies the issue.
The issue is that cyclists are not obeying the law. The law states that cyclists are considered vehicles and therefore must obey all traffic laws that vehicles must obey. This includes stopping at red lights and yielding to pedestrians. Instead cyclists feel that the burden for safety is on the pedestrian. This means that the cyclists believe the responsibility to be safe and look both ways is on the pedestrian. While this is a good idea and a safe practice, pedestrians should be able to cross on their light without a fear of being run over by a cyclist breaking the law.
You state that the cyclists are focused on where they are going and attempting not to crash. Your statement should include focusing on obeying the laws of the road and stopping at red lights.
Not anti-cyclist at all. I was on a bicycle when I observed this. If people are waiting to cross and they have the light, cyclists must stop. They almost never do. I’ve observed this hundreds of times. Bicyclists would be much more likely to get community support for bike lanes etc. if people feel like we play by the rules. “Pedestrians are the problem” is not the message you want to send, and it’s not the crux of the problem. Avi
STOPLIGHTS IN NEW YORK CITY HAVE BECOME ESSENTIALLY MEANINGLESS.
my two points of view
as a driver; bikers don’t use the bike lanes on the streets which is incredibly annoying because they put both parties at risk PLUS the UWS has a bad parking problem made worse by bike lanes
as a bike rider: I grew up in the suburbs where I could ride bike safely on the streets and in the parks. In NYC, riding on the streets is incredibly dangerous until you really get in some practice and sadly the only place bikers are allowed to bike in Central Park is the big loop. Parks should be a place of recreation… pedestrians have the rest of the city.