Bicyclists have hit at least 35 pedestrians in Central Park this year; two of the pedestrians died and three have sustained skull fractures, according to the Central Park NYPD precinct commander, who spoke at a community board meeting on Monday.
The Post reports that NYPD Inspector Jessica Corey said 38 people have been hit by bikes, while DNAinfo reported it was 35. The collisions occurred throughout the day, including the early morning hours around 6 a.m. when some cyclists practice race training.
“The hot spots for cyclist-pedestrian crashes include West Drive in the West 70s and near East 72nd Street along East Drive, she noted.”
Collisions have jumped 52% this year over last year, according to the Post. Police have also been giving out more summonses — 810 this year versus 195 last year, according to the Post.
“Officers have given out 810 summonses this year as of Sunday for violations including failure to yield, running red lights and wearing headphones while riding.”
So far, the main proposal being floated to deal with conflicts in the park is to eliminate cars from the loop road next summer; one pedestrian has been hit by a car so far this year. Councilman Mark Levine has also discussed potentially lowering the speed limit. Other proposals that were discussed informally at a meeting on Monday include installing push-to-cross buttons at intersections.
John McEnroe told a news station this week that he’s stopped bicycling in Central Park because there are too many “lunatics” riding around like it’s the Tour de France.
“I know this is hard to believe, but I’m a pretty competitive person,” he joked. “I used to go out and ride around Central Park and see how quickly I could get around, and how many times I could [do a loop] in an hour.
“It’s gotten completely out of hand. I’m not sure how I feel about the whole bicycle thing. While I love the bicycle lanes, it seems it’s an accident waiting to happen.”
How about making killing a pedestrian while using a bike a mandatory 5 years jail time? Councilman Mark Levine is an empty suit, just like our turd of a mayor. Neither one can make any useful decision unless it benefits them personally. Lowering the speed limit? Yeah, those who kill people while running the existing red light will definitely pay attention to that…
How about returning the park to the people? And those who want to race their bike, can go to where there are no pedestrians. Or they can go to the highway and see how the car drivers take it.
Bravo – because someone is hit by a car, or a bike, does not prove the guilt of the driver/byclist. There are two parties involved in every accident, at a minimum. Assuming the solution to accidents is throwing everyone in jail and that only the faster moving person is guilty is incredibly lacking in commono sense. If a person walks in front of car/bike while ignoring crosswalks/lights (which is happening constantly in the Park and the City at all times) they are the guilty party, and they are the ones who are endangering others. Both sides can give, but assuming because you don’t ride a bike that all byclists are guilty is not understanding the issue.
That is a great idea. Lets’a apply the same rule to motorists who’ve killed over 100 people this year.
I walk from the UWS to and from work each day through Central Park. A marginal number of cyclists are now stopping for red lights when I did not see that happening previously. But this may increase the hazard for walkers, who may assume that all cyclists will stop. But that is not what is happening. Some are speeding through even when they see that the other cyclists are slowing down or stopping. Pedestrians are thus more likely to be plowed into, since before we assumed no one would stop and we were on full alert and that is no longer happening with some pedestrians. To make matters worse, I now see a police car parked near Tavern on the Green in the early evening, but with cyclists speeding through red lights just north of that intersection the police just sit in their car and do nothing! Why aren’t they enforcing the traffic laws, and why aren’t they getting off their behinds and standing out prominently near the red light, to send a clear message? Their performance is very disappointing. Like so many other problems the laws are there to be enforced and we don’t need to do anything more than do that to help solve the problem and reduce the risks.
All for enforcing the laws, they should all charge people crossing the road outside of the crosswalk and against the light. If you want bikers following the letter of the law, then so should pedestrians. Too many people just wandering through the roadway (which prob takes up <3% of the CP area, but is the only place you can bike safely) while completely ignoring all others and the laws of the road.
Please look both ways before you cross a highway, street, trail or path.
I propose mandatory licensing of all cyclists including insurance and license plates. When these cyclists blow through red lights, above-street cameras will capture their license plates and then a ticket will be mailed to them.
“So far, the main proposal being floated to deal with conflicts in the park is to eliminate cars from the loop road next summer”???????????????? Cars are not the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess we need a few more deaths?
It should also be noted that many pedestrians do not obey traffic signals and step into roadways without ever looking to see if anyone(runner, skater, cyclist, car, etc.) is coming their way.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: the laws must be enforced or they’re meaningless. This might mean more cops on duty in the park, handing out tickets. That will cost money. However, if the laws prove to be effective it will be money well spent.
The real problem is tourists. They’re the most oblivious, most likely to walk in the bike lanes, most likely to ride the wrong direction, and most likely to be a general nuisance. Leave the park to New Yorkers!
One of the more dangerous places to walk, with regard to bicyclists, in Central park is near the Delacorte Theater.
There is a long, sloping hill, near 81 St. and CPW, that riders love to ride down as fast as possible. Most bicyclists don’t have their hands anywhere near the brake handles I have noticed many times as they go down the hill. But I have NEVER seen a cop there.
Some of the fast CP racers most be on something as they appear to believe they are on some closed-road European professional bike race. I love to watch them on TV.
I bet those professionals would leave most NYC bikers “in the dust.” And I bet those professional racers don’t train in public parks.
I rarely bike in CP anymore. And I am very careful when I walk there these days.
Maybe some parts of the park should be closed to cars and bicyclists certain times of the day.
“It’s gotten completely out of hand. I’m not sure how I feel about the whole bicycle thing. While I love the bicycle lanes, it seems it’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Only way to stop the accidents from happening is to ban bikes completely in the park loops. They can create a bike area just for bikes and no pedestrians.
I’m not anti-bike (I own one) I just have seen what happens when a friend got hit by a bike. One year of P/T and she still had a facial tick!
The logical solution would be to create a closed-off area for bikes only, without the way for them to get off unless walking. One of the multitude of baseball fields should be used for the biking area.
But our policy makers are just a waste of air and food. Bunch of losers.
I sincerly hate all cyclists and am a firm believer in every single one deserved being hit. They run red lights, speed, ride on the sidewalk and drive down the wrong way. All Illegal so why in your pea sized brains should we punish motorist?
Instead of throwing out your stupid suggestions on what punishment would be appropriate for the drivers, pick up a law book because you are embarassing yourselves.
We have district attorneys that decide appropriate punishments. Take your opinion and wipe your ass with it. Take your stupid ass bike and follow the rules like everyone else. Don’t be surprised when someone plows into you running a redlight. If I see it, I will make sure to wait for the cops to confirm what a moron you are. All while you lay lifeless on the floor and the driver will go off without so much as a ticket.
Moron Alert
Quoting the troll: “I sincerly hate all cyclists and am a firm believer in every single one deserved being hit.”
Feeding the troll: Yes, all cyclists are the same, just as are all drivers and all pedestrians. Each group is a monolithic Borg-mind in which all members are identical to the rest. Take a deep breath, tone down the hysteria, find you meds, and then punch yourself in the face.
Speed bumps… problem solved.
These are awful. With respect for the privacy of those who were involved, I wish these incidents were better publicised, because we should all be working nonstop to drop these injury and collision numbers to zero.
I think the reason for all these accidents is because of the CitiBikes. There are too many people who don’t know how to navigate the city or the park riding bikes these days. I’ve lived in Manhattan most of my life and have had a couple of bikes and never heard of such a problem.
Citibikes?! Don’t think that’s the problem – an earlier poster in the thread mentioned the hill at the Delacorte – I have watched this particular situation for years and it’s always been a nightmare. Bikes have NEVER stopped at this traffic light and because of the slope are at max speed. Stand there one day and watch people try to cross. I don’t see CBs going at top speed, ever.
I’m not talking about that particular hill by the Delacorte theater. Besides I know all about that hill and many other in the park. I used to ride all of them when I was a kid. And… it’s a park for crying out loud. Pedestrians and bikes have to be aware of each other. In either case… I’m talking in general, all over the city. More accidents have happened with bicycles since the Citibikes have been introduced in NYC.
Problem is you have self-righteous bicyclists who use the loop as a race course and regard pedestrians as impediments to their routine.
Central Park also has tourists, small kids, dogs who slip off their leashes and the cell-phone impaired. It’s a bad combination.
My vote is for serpentine barriers or speed bumps in pedestrian-heavy areas.
I’d like to see the statistics regarding accidents caused by pedestrians that injure cyclists. It happens all the time but no one covers it.
It’s really a shame — I think leisure bicycling is completely fine and those out for a gentle ride should be able to share the paths and roads with pedestrians, horses, rollerbladers, tuk tuks, and everyone else moving at leisurely speeds. And it’s everyone’s responsibility to watch out for everyone else when that’s the case, and move defensively so you can stop if you need to. The real problem in my mind comes with those who go at speeds disproportionately faster than everyone else. It’s akin to going 95 on the highway when everyone else is going 55 — you just can’t count on stopping in time and the margin for error goes way down. Central Park as it’s organized now is for leisure, not racing (and I would fully support setting aside a separate place for racing if there are enough people who need it).
Now the WSR is teaming up with the NY Post in their hatred on bicyclists. Pathetic.
One key thing we can do to help avoid bike accidents is for pedestrians to be able to hear a cyclist coming before it’s too late. Most bicycles are silent while the cyclist is pedaling, and the racing cyclists almost never even have a bell (they think its uncool) or use a whistle.
One possible solution is to require cyclists to have and ring bells or blow a whistle whenever they either see a pedestrian or appoach any crosswalk. Using a bright flashing light on the front end of the bike would also help alert pedestrians, even in the daytime. Sometimes bikes can blend into the trees and background and are not seen or heard by pedestrians before it”s too late. This would at least give some an early warning before an acident happens.
I remeber when bike messengers used to be everywhere, and they always used a whistle to alert people when they were blowing through an intersection. It would scare the hell out of you but it worked every time.
Same thing goes for the Chinese delivery guys on those fast moving silent electric bikes. For me those are the ones I have had the most scary near misses with as a pedestiran because you can’t hear them coming, and they move so fast they are right are on top of you before you even see or hear them coming.
I think we need to question why we are treating crossings that are nearly pedestrian and cyclist exclusive like motorway crossings in the rest of the city. Make the park car-free and assign 3-4 crossing guards at the highest volume crossings in the park. Is this that difficult?
I agree with Brian- some crossing guards would help to solve the problem.
I also think that there needs to mandatory jail time for cyclist who kill pedestrians and tickets for running reds lights. Why should they be able to break the laws?
Great idea. I’m with you on the mandatory jail time, but does the NYPD really have the manpower to post crossing guards? Can’t people just follow the laws?
Not only do we not have the manpower but there is no room in jails as well.
The problem is SOME cyclists have no regard for other people. My wife got run down by a cyclist coming screaming down the hill near Central Park North in a racing peloton. She was in the running lane, he crashed into the back of her because he was going too fast and couldn’t slow down to avoid traffic. His excuse was I had to either crash into the solid lane separator, another bike or you… you were going to cause the least damage to my bike!! He got back on his bike and rode away, she had a month off running with physio. We’re just lucky it wasn’t worse but there really should be some prosecution for careless cycling, if it’s not criminal perhaps as much as I hate it we might have to start having some high profile civil lawsuits. I also think tourists need to read and sign some rules in their own language at those bike rental places – half of them (an exaggeration) as soon as they hire one they ride down the paths (past the signs saying no riding on the paths) and turn the wrong way up West Drive into the running lane. If you try and tell them they ignore you, or can’t understand.
Anyone racing and riding bikes recklessly like they own the road with no regard for anyone who do not get out of there way and hit them they should face mandatory prison time. If they kill someone a long prison sentence. If they cause permanent or long term injuries the severity should determine prison sentence and they should pay medical bills.
Bikers often are riding so fast that even the most diligent and careful pedestrian cannot gauge the real distance between themselves and the oncoming bike!i have crossed these cp paths thousands of times over thirty years and am shocked to find a bike that seems safely far from me, suddenly almost killing me.one word:speed bumps. Let the bikers finally face the consequences of their speed .stop them from using us as a speed bump.i must add here also the dangerous close calls with unapologetic bikes on the streets of nyc that routinely fly unexpectedly through a red light, graze your face, cause your heart to stop beating,and they continue without a backward glance.