We’ve heard two reports of pedestrians being injured by bicyclists in Central Park in recent weeks.
Deborah Avaro was leaving the park at 69th street and Central Park West on July 4 when she was hit by a bicyclist.
“I received the crosswalk light and started to walk across the street when I was hit by a bike. The impact was so hard I was pushed 5 feet from the crosswalk. Luckily I received only a fractured elbow some scrapes and contusions down my right side. I was taken by ambulance to Lenox Hill Hospital. It could have been a lot worse.”
Avaro says police told her they would have had to witness the crash for it to result in a summons. The fact that there were multiple witnesses didn’t change this. The accident report from the 20th precinct notes that the bicyclist said he was swerving to get out of the way of a car, but Avaro disputed the claim.
“There was no car except the parked ones he was flying by.”
The bicyclist was not charged.
Avaro said that police need to focus more closely on the issue.
“We need more publicity and police action before someone is killed. There are too many bikes and they are all traveling too fast!”
A couple of weeks before that — Sunday, June 22 — a woman was hit by a bicyclist on West Drive around 72nd street in Central Park. Reports varied on the severity of her injuries. amNew York said she was “critically injured,” while reports from Gothamist and ABC News sounded somewhat less dire. She was hit around 5:45 p.m. ABC said she was bloody and was given oxygen by paramedics. Gothamist reported:
“An NYPD spokesman said that bicyclist was going south in the designated bike lane near West 72nd Street while there was a pedestrian about 50 feet south of Olmsted Way who was “standing or walking very slowly” in the bike lane. The bicyclist crashed into the pedestrian, and both were knocked to the ground.
The spokesman added that the bicyclist, who was wearing a helmet, suffered abrasion and minor injuries while the pedestrian has non-life-threatening injuries. (A photographer on the scene said that the pedestrian appeared to have a head injury and seemed badly hurt.) Both were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital.”
This spring, police did appear to be focusing more on ticketing bicyclists. We wrote about how bicyclists were tearing through red lights with impunity a couple of years ago.
File photo of a bicyclist going through a red light in Central Park.
I was hit by a cyclist while crossing Central Park West on May 31. I was in the cross walk with the walk sign (at 101st Street), when he came flying down the wrong side of the street, ran a red light, and knocked me over. Fortunately, witnesses saw it and waited with me until the police and ambulance came. The cyclist claimed to be unaware that there were any laws requiring him to stop at red lights or drive on the correct side of the road!
Cycling laws *need* to be enforced! I don’t understand why the city tolerates cyclists not even stopping briefly at red lights.
I ride Central Park almost every day. I’m not one of those spandex covered speed demon nitwits. I actually stop for red lights and watch for pedestrians. My problem is the pedestrians who don’t watch for bikes. I wish I had a nickle for every time I came upon a crossing where I had a green light and a herd of tourists, looking right at me, cross en masse forcing me to come to a stop for their convenience. Add to that the parents who choose to walk had in hand with their children at a toddlers pace in the middle of a clearly marked bike lane. Other hazards include baby carriages being pushed along while distracted by ones iPhone and dogs on long leashes allowed to span the width of the path. It occurs to me that the serious cyclist is far more aware of the road and his/her surroundings than an oblivious stroller gazing everywhere but at the road traffic.
As a fellow cautious cyclist, I agree with you, and have had the same experiences. Don’t forget the idiots who dart into the road in the middle of a blind downhill curve where there’s no crosswalk, and figure a cyclist should be able to stop on a dime. Pedestrians need to follow the rules, too.
Cyclists are animals. They obey zero laws and behave as if pedestrians who have the right of way should just move over.
I have yet to see any cyclist obey the red lights in Central Park so people can cross.
Animals! They need to be slaughtered! Every last one of them! Animals!
Wow.
I walk a lot in both Central Park and Riverside Park. Some people just don’t follow the rules and it is a danger to everyone pedestrians and cyclists. In Central Park I have only rarely seen any cyclist stop at the red lights for the crosswalks. It is like a game of Frogger to cross the drive. Heaven help those with small children. In Riverside Park I often see people walking the wrong way or walking in the bike lanes. There is also a dangerous section going north near 79th where steep paths merge onto the walkway. I have seen bikes spped down these ramps and onto the walkway with no braking what so ever. There is a bike lane, but they pass right through the walk lane to get there. We all need to do a better job of following the rules and police and park workers need to remind people. Usually they just stand by and watch the chaos.
If you want to lay the credit somewhere, Gale Brewer was the driving force behind stopping the ticketing for red light running by cyclists in the park a couple of years ago. She was very proud of it at the time – no reason to believe that she’s changed her view.
I was also hit by a cyclist at the same intersection as Ms. Avaro (West 69th and CPW) last summer, leaving me with a nice scar on my right leg. Same story – the cyclist didn’t stop at the red light. The accident happened in the evening and the cyclist was riding a bike with no lights and going at full speed.
Many Cyclists feel that they have a right to do what ever they want–blow past red lights, go the wrong way, ignore cross walks. They view themselves as set apart from other human kind. I’m tired of jumping out of their way.
As a pedestrian often walking in Central Park with small children (one in a stroller) I have tried every strategy to avoid getting hit by bicyclists. I could wait for the right of way, in which case I am still dodging the cyclists. So, instead of waiting a few minutes for the green light to walk, I might as well just cross whenever, since bicyclists don’t care. Why should I both wait and play frogged. I might as well just play frogged and not waste time. I have even stood in the crosswalk with my arms out trying to protect my wife as she pushes the stroller across. In which case, bikes just swerve around me despite their having ared light. And the best is when the cyclists make comments to you to get out of their way as you are with small children crossing with the light in your favor
Sadly, nothing new about pedestrians getting hit by cyclists in the park. 22 years ago, stepped off the curb on a Sunday afternoon at Park Drive South around 92nd and got nailed by a guy on a racing bike, in racing skins and helmet, hunched over the handle bars doing at least 40MPH according to the police, based on how far I was thrown into the air and south down the Drive. It was like trying to see the edge of a razor-blade coming at you, which I didn’t, until 1 second ahead of impact. Nothing 14 hours in the ER and a month unable to even lift myself out of bed didn’t fix. Actually – it didn’t fix it. Still hurts at times. No summons. Good thing I was a lot younger.
Not that I’m not sympathetic, but you should know that 40mph on an unmotorized vehicle is patently impossible in Central Park — ESPECIALLY at 92nd st (regardless of direction of travel). It might be possible to hit 35 near the pool/rink near Harlem Meer. I’ve raced in the park (sanctioned, permitted races, mind you) and I’ve never even hit 40 in a race.
Just out of curiosity, did you look both ways before you stepped off the curb? Were you in a crosswalk? If the answer to both questions is “no,” then you’re like many of the pedestrians I encounter every time I ride in the park.
Nonetheless, we cyclists are often our own worst enemy; I’m the first to admit that. And as the park users often traveling at the greatest speed, we cyclists have the greatest responsibility for others’ safety. Far too few of my cycling compatriots seem to understand that, and for them I apologize. But the fact is EVERYONE contributes to the risks faced on the park drive, because EVERYONE spends too much time in his own little world, and not looking out for the other person.
Heads up, put the iPhone away, take the headphones off, look over the top of (instead of into) the baby stroller, look both ways at the crosswalk, wait until you have a signal to pass or cross . . . man, it’s hard living among 8 million others, isn’t it?
I got hit by a cyclist while crossing 73rd Street. He was going the wrong way down the one way street. I looked the correct way, but unfortunately I didn’t think I needed to look the wrong way. He went straight into me, then had the nerve to say that I should have looked to see if he was coming(the wrong way!). Cyclists are the absolute worst thing in NYC. I’ve had them ring their bell at me as they cut me off in the crosswalk. Now I just push them if they get too close while I’m crossing. For my own safety of course.
I was hit by a cyclist in Central Park way back in 1999, while I was rollerblading on a clear, sunny, Wednesday morning. The cyclist was traveling the wrong way in the park. I had very, very serious injuries and had to involve a lawyer to ensure my medical costs were covered. I was a student at the time, and had to be admitted to Columbia Pres. after Lenox Hill foolishly sutured closed a puncture wound that her brake inflicted on my thigh. Clearly there needs to be more enforcement on directions in which cyclists ride in the park, at all times.
The biggest joke is the Columbus Ave bike lane—rarely are there bikers using it, and if they are, they’re going the wrong way. I have seen 4 times where there were cars in the bike lane–once it was a cop car! The newly planted trees are nice, but what a waste of money and space.
Dog walkers don’t know where to curb their dogs, so they don’t and we lowly pedestrians have to cross the lane to get to the other side, or to hail a cab in the middle of the street, while watching every direction for bikers and turning cars and dog poop and holes in the concrete.
Bicycles travel as fast as cars and should be licensed and regulated. They should be ticketed for running lights and running over pedestrians.
Someone will get killed and there will be an outrage but nothing will change because the city officials just don’t care.
The bicycle lane on Columbus is no excuse, nor is anything else, for dog owners or their walkers to leave feces on the sidewalks. The plethora of dog poop everywhere on the UWS is another factor negatively impacting the quality of life here. I should be able to walk on the sidewalks without spending a good deal of the time looking down.
That is so true, and another huge issue that isn’t addressed by our council people.
Bicyclists are growing in numbers. I am constantly on the look out not to be hit. They ignore lights. Travel in the opposite direction of traffic. They are all over the sidewalks of the Upper West Side. The police choose to ignore them, as stated by the woman in the accident above. There are laws on the books about riding on the sidewalk above the age of 14. There are two as a matter of fact. We need to mobilize and get bicyclists licensed and moving with all vehicular traffic.
I didn’t know about that law, but I wonder if it also applies to scooters? Because they’re all over the sidewalks, and the riders aren’t all children. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had a close call or two with a scooter, ridden by either an adult on a cell phone or a child whose parent/guardian is too busy texting to do anything about it.
There does seem to have been a noticeable upsurge in children and parents riding scooters on UWS sidewalks, even when sidewalks are pretty crowded. And they zip by pretty quickly – they don’t slow down.
What’s happening?
Truth be told it’s no fun biking in Central Park. I stopped riding in Central Park years ago because the Wall Street boys on their ridiculously expensive racing bikes, take out their aggressions cycling the loop. If you get in their way, you loose. As an older woman who isn’t racing, but getting in a bit of exercise, it was too nerve wracking. Now I bike the Hudson River Greenway early in the morning when it’s less congested and there are fewer racers.
I don’t spend as much time in Central Park as I’d like to because of the whole bicycle-pedestrian problem. Bicyclists who want to ride like they’re in the Tour de France need to go outside of the city to do so. There are plenty of open spaces accessible by car or train in NJ, Long Island, Westchester and Fairfield county with lightly traveled backroads. I have never seen bicyclists in any major city in a foreign country ride as selfishly as they do in NYC. Central Park is an important amenity for residents and tourists. No one group should usurp the enjoyment of the park for themselves at the expense of others. Bicyclists who ignore the rules need to be ticketed and fined. I suggest a few hundred dollars per infraction. Likewise, pedestrians not obeying the walk signs contribute to the problem and should be ticketed as well. We should all be in this together but this city as well as this country is teeming with self absorbed individuals who have no concept of community.
This argument cuts both ways. There are far too many irresponsible bikers in the city (not just the park), but runners and skaters can be just as bad. Just two weeks ago I was riding on the Hudson Greenway bike path and a runner in the bike lane abruptly stopped to turn around without looking. I almost hit her, but a woman rider behind me was not so lucky and they crashed. The bike rider had a bad shoulder injury. The runner was clearly at fault and I chastised the park ranger for not giving her a ticket.
At a bare minimum, bikers stay in their lane and runners / walkers stay in theirs. The park rangers and police should focus on this as a first step. As to the park, I don’t ride there because of the hell that it is.
I 100% agree that everyone needs to stay in their respective lanes. But part of the problem is that there are many places–namely the path along the water in Riverside Park–where bikers, runners, and walkers are all expected to share one tiny lane, and it just doesn’t work. Bikers need their own dedicated lane, and one that is wide enough to allow passing one another without cutting into the running lane. And runners should be able to do so without constantly looking over their shoulders for cyclists, many of whom travel at high speeds and do not bother to use a bell. I’m a runner, and a few weeks ago I took a hard fall while looking over my shoulder to avoid a cyclist. (As a bonus, he didn’t even bother to stop to see if I was okay!) With running and cycling both growing in popularity, it’s time to rethink the design of some of these paths.
It’s also tough on the Riverside path because at some point (after the tennis courts, I think), the path changes which side runners and bikers should be on.
Similarly in Central Park, as far as I understand it, after 7pm when cars are banned, the rec lane on the left becomes the running lane and the rest of the road is open for bikes. Novice bikers don’t know this, and yell at runners in the bike lane (who are supposed to be there after car hours.) More clarity and consistency would be useful.
Sara, that used to be true, but the lane striping was changed about, um, 14 months ago or so? The running lane is now always the running lane — and is a whole car lane wide in almost the whole park — and the bike lane is similar, almost in the whole park. Its role does not change with the presence or absence of cars any more. The only thing that changes is outside lanes become bike lanes as well, by convention for the fastest riders. (If only clueless pedestrians observed that! Or slower cyclists, for that matter.)
I emailed Helen Rosenthal’s office several weeks ago about the number of bicyclists riding on the sidewalks, particularly Broadway, and suggested that she focus some attention on this issue. I have yet to hear back from her office.
Is there/are there bicycle coalitions in New York City? They should give the careful bicyclists more power and help train the less responsible/uneducated ones.
The numerous me-too recounts of pedestrians getting hit by out of control bicyclists came to mind yesterday when I was slowly cruising the bike path along the Hudson. Since there were numerous pedestrians on THE BIKE PATH, I was acutely aware of everyone around me. Suddenly two oblivious suits who were engaged in conversation on one side of THE BIKE PATH, decided to abruptly turn and cross directly and immediately in front of me without even giving a thought to looking to see if anyone was coming. Now, not yet having mastered that whole space/time thing and unable to instantly freeze in place, I was barely able to avoid a collision by maneuvering around them while calling out “HELLO” to alert these two morons to my presence. To which I received the arrogant and snarky reply that “pedestrians are allowed here too”. I wonder how many people complaining here about hits and near misses are like those two who somehow have forgotten the simple childhood rule to look both ways before crossing.
Do we blame pedestrians when they’re crossing with the light in a legal crosswalk and a car runs a red light? How is a cyclist running a red light on Central Park West into a crosswalk any less at fault than a vehicle? They’re going much faster than a pedestrian who steps into a legal crosswalk. Take responsibility and follow the law.
For those who might have been absent that day in physics class, it is simply not possible for a bicycle to instantly freeze in place when someone decides to step in front of one.
Can someone suggest where to file a complaint regarding the cyclists going to fast in the park? If there is a number to call? I was walking with my 4 month old in a stroller in the 90s in the park and was almost hit by a cyclist this past week. Also, I noticed a lot of the tourists on bikes are riding against traffic. The signs aren’t clear or just not paying attention?