By Gus Saltonstall
New York City is lowering the speed limit in Central Park.
The speed limit will drop from 20 mph to 15 mph for vehicles in the park, including bikes and essential vehicles, according to the city. Private cars have been banned from Central Park since 2018, and a city-wide speed limit of 15 mph for electric bikes, including in the park, has been in effect since October.
“This new 15-mile-per-hour speed limit for vehicles and cyclists in Central Park moves us closer to our vision of a more people-centered park, making the Lungs of New York City more welcoming and establishing clear rules of the road that enhance quality of life,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “The redesign of the Central Park Drives complements this new speed limit and reaffirms our mission to create public spaces that serve New Yorkers first.”
The 60-day notification period for New Yorkers for the Central Park speed limit is already underway, according to the Department of Transportation, so the change is expected to go into effect around the end of February.
The city was able to make the change with new authority from Sammy’s Law, which was legislation signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May that also gives legislators the ability to lower the default speed limit in the five boroughs from 25 mph to 20 mph.
In 2014, the city lowered the speed limit in Central Park from 25 mph to 20 mph.
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I shall be sitting along the edge of the roadway waiting to jot down instances of enforcement of this new speed limit.
Central Park is one place where they actually do some speed enforcement, because they have a whole precinct of cops without much to do and it’s easier and less dangerous to pull over a bike than a car.
How do they pull them over? I have never witnessed this
You could get killed by a bike, trying to cross the drive when the bikers, in ltheir spandex Tour de France outfits are out. They must do 30 to 40 mph coming down near the Delacort Theater. The go right through all red lights. I have NEVER seen a cop stop any of them.
there are no more red lights, but your hyperbole is definitely noted.
funny i can cross the drive up to 10x a day, sometimes more, with no issue ever. with my kids or pets too.
Same, I cross all the time with no issues. I look where I’m going and the bikers slow down or go around.
ESVA is out there trying to portray the loop like its the Indy 500 out there…
Right now, in the dead of Winter, I agree. But when they first got rid of the red lights and walk signals when the weather was nice it was very difficult. And I know you’ll say bikes didn’t stop for the red lights (which was a problem) but pedestrians at least felt the knew when rhey could start walking and thr bikes would try to not hit them. As ot is now there is no time when a ledestrian feels they are allowed to step off the curb.
I never waited for the light to cross the drive. Like people said, most cyclists wouldn’t stop at the lights. But that didn’t really matter. If you crossed when there was a safe distance between bikes, there was no problem and you didn’t have to wait as long to cross as waiting for the light. In the summer or the winter, I think the biggest issue is pedestrians not wanting to have to actually pay attention while walking. If you demand the right of way, it is less safe than yielding the right of way and being fully attentive when crossing. Cyclists don’t want to hit pedestrians any more than pedestrians want to get hit. Both have a high probability of injury. So, hopefully common sense returns in 2026.
You’ll be sitting there for a long time.
There will be no enforcement and the DOT knows this. It’s an empty gesture. There is a very small police force in Central Park who’d be the first to admit it. They cannot chase speeding bikes in the park. Riders have no licenses to write tickets on. That’s because for 2.5 years both the city and the state have been doing nothing to pass Priscilla’s Law which would license and register at least e-bikes which are after all motorized vehicles. The lack of licensing of motorized e-vehicles that can go 35 mph is a dereliction of duty. E-bikes should be banned from Central Park.
If you’d like to fight for real regulation of e-bikes and STOP the reckless riding that so often severely injures New Yorkers, please join the only group fighting for safety: nycevsa.org
I use an E cargo bike to take my kids to school through Central Park every day. Would be crushing to ban ebikes.
While I have some sympathy for you it is not nearly as much as I have for all the pedestrians trying to crpss the streets or those people (often senior citizens) who no longer go to thr park because they are fearful of the bikes. I’m not saying you drive recklessly but enough do that something has to change.
Parent here.
Crosstown bus!
Patents and students have been using the crosstown bus for decades!
And people have been riding bicycles for a century before buses were even invented.
Crushing? C’mon!
There are crosstown buses that actually go through the Park from west to east. And back.
what does that have to do with riding a bike?
I’ll be sitting on the edge of my toilet. About as good of a chance of seeing enforcement as yours…
One has to wonder why didn’t make it 1mph, or 0.33mph…or 157.2mph…Given no overweight aging traffic cop will ever chase some aggressive thug on an electric bike going 40mph through the crowd… the number matters not one bit.
They have not even been able to enforce the speed laws that have been in effect for a while. How do they expect to enforce this new one? This is just a sop, and is likely to be of very little significance.
Bikes do not have plates!
But now there’s good 4K video.
Unless there are police there, this will not be enforced.
I have noticed the police doing a better job ensuring bike traffic flows counter-clockwise, but I doubt speeds will be enforced. And certainly no one (off leash dog walkers, smokers, speeders, wrong way, illegal bikes) will ever receive a citation.
I think you mean “even if the police are there”.
How could rhe police enforce it? Certainly we don’t want police cars forcing bikes off the road in Central Park. The pilice woukd have ti be on eBikes and try to go fast enough to catch the bikes and force them to stop (but not to go onto the pedestrian walk ways(. The the cop would say “can I see some ID?” But there is no law saying you have to have ID on you to ride a bike in thr park. And your bike isn’t registered so they can’t use that to help. Would the speeders be trusted to give their real name and address or would they be brought to a police station?
Ah, this explains the speed camera / display that I saw this morning.
Seems fine, the new administration are talking a good game on street safety, hope they follow through and focus on enforcing speed limits and the many cars/bikes I see running red lights with no consequences.
Just so you know, it’s a common understanding amongst bikers that when you see a speed display on a roadside, you should sprint as fast as you can to see how high you can get the number. ha Ha HA!
Do you support raising the speed limit for bikes?
How will speed cameras in the park work given that pedal bikes, eBikes and eScooters have no liscence plates?
They set up a display screen that shows the speed of each cyclist, it’s not issuing tickets.
Those speed screens are used in a lot of municipalities near schools, houses of worship, etc., and I suspect they are pretty effective in reminding drivers to slow down. They might actually work for the percentage of responsible cyclists that believes in following laws. But from a pedestrian’s point of view, that seems like a minuscule percentage. With no danger of consequences (eg, tickets), the Tour de France wannabes would use the speed screens as a challenge rather than a warning.
Bikes should get points and tickets like car drivers!
no that would be really dumb
Every cross street in the city should be 15mph too.
Continuous sidewalks.
Impossible to enforce.
Cameras.
The speed limit on the avenues needs to go back to 30 mph.
Reminder: Eugene lives in Long Island and would like to drive even faster through our neighborhood.
For those of us who live here, pedestrian safety is more important.
not enough people getting killed by driver for you these days?
As someone who bikes, drives, uses the subway, bus, and as a pedestrian – does anyone actually believe people pay attention to, let alone care about, the speed they are going on a bike?
You need to get a new bike
The trishaw I ride has a speed output. It might reach 15 mph on a downhill. My pedal bike has a cheap ebay gadget that shows speed. Its battery died and now its doing KPH which I like because its more the MPH. Never have I seen it do 24. (rough equivalent of 15MPH).
Only those of us cyclists who have bike computers will actually know what our speed is. How do you enforce a speed limit on people who don’t have the ability to know their speed? E-bikes can have governors that limit the power output which will limit the speed. But a standard bicycle can’t have that. So unless someone spends $200 or more for an add-on, they can’t know if they are speeding or not.
Guess what? It’s your responsibility to know how fast your going. If your car speedometer is broken, it’s not a pass, it’s another ticket.
Except that speedometers come standard on ALL cars. Speedometers come standard on ZERO bikes. Convince the government to mandate speedometers be standard equipment on all bikes then you can make the same argument.
Speed bumps could do it
Speed bumps have no effect on a bike
How about the cyclists in Central Park don’t use it as their personal racing track? I ‘ve never almost been run down by an E-bike. But I’ve been almost hit in a crosswalk by a racing cyclist in his fancy riding shorts numerous times.
thid is utter nonsense. no biker want to crash into you. it can be a bad or wore for them.
Interesting. I have had the complete opposite experience. All of the close calls I have ever had, inside and outside of the park, have all been e-bikes, either delivery riders or teenagers on electric Citibikes.
Good point. Most bikes don’t have speedometers. This law is nonsense.. No way for cyclists to know how fast they are going and no way for police to tickets them.
I guess you’ll just have to fork over some of your spandex money for a computer. It’s your responsibility.
spandex money! how clever you are? so funny too.
Without actual enforcement, it’s a meaningless change.
And the DOT, Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Department know it!! It’s all about the money. Lyft who owns Citibike. DoorDash, Grubhub and the lobby who receives money from them, Trans Alt are in control here. The only measure that will help is licenses for e-bikes, not to mention insurance. Priscilla’s Law languishing in City Council and the State Assembly would be serious regulation. But everyone in power has chosen lobbyists and their billion dollar corporations over the safety of New York. Egregious.
evsa is disingenuous trolls who spout misinformation, priscilla’s law existing only in their deluded minds.
Last year my co-worker, walking in Central Park, was hit by a person on Citibike which resulted in multiple injuries and required several surgeries.
The Citibiker mumbled an apology but did not remain.
An ambulance took my co-worker to the hospital
There were no police on the scene.
Thus this incident not reflected in data.
you made most of this up, and exaggerated the rest
Why would there have been police on the scene? They can’t be everywhere, unless they were called to the scene.
Oh, maybe because a crime, leaving the scene of an accident, was committed. Maybe to secure the scene for EMS. Maybe serve and protect. Just a guess.
Presumably they called 911 to get an ambulance. The point is when someone presents data on bike safety it is not correct. There is no tally of bikes-pedestrian accidents that can be relied on to be accurate.
Great news! Hopefully this will reduce the danger to pedestrians from high-speed cyclists.
Great news. Hope the new speed limit will be enforced–and same for Riverside Drive, where cyclists almost never honor red lights, pedestrians, or legal speed limits.
yeah all those people getting run over by people on bikes. oh wait sorry it cars that kill and maim people everyday. your motornormativity is showing.
Speed limits on RSD are 25mph. Very very few cyclists are going to be breaking the speed limit, and only on downhill portions. But they will still be traveling more slowly than the cars are moving.
There’s a twitter account that regularly posts bike accidents in Central Park. They happen daily, and the vast majority are not due to speed.
What are the accidents due to?
Not following the social contract: Not allowing pedestrians to cross safely, swinging into the running lane to pass slower bikes, wearing headphones and “bike dancing”….
Let’s see if the Spandex Monsters obey!
so clever and funny. you made a spandex joke about those lance’s. har har.
And I’m sure the NYPD will enforce the rules against pedi cab drivers blasting (or others) playing amped music. /s
Also, what will the future “Olympians” with $30,000 road bikes do for “training” now?
This is a move in the right direction. Now how will it be enforced?
Are there organizations or clubs for cyclists like NY Road Runners and is Central Park Conservancy working with them. I’m there with my pup every morning and these cyclists think that the park is their private racetrack. When there were red lights and walk signals they could have cared less. They think this is their private racetrack . At the 64th St crosswalk on the west side I’ve nearly been hit with other older folks multiple times. I don’t think the cyclists think they need to slow down nor do they care. I ‘ve learned that NY Cycists the most self centered arrogant group of people – mostly men – out there.
My favorite example of this was the little old lady who started screaming at me to not cross on a red light as I entered the intersection (on bike) about 20 seconds after the light in my direction had turned green, while she was jaywalking with a solid Don’t Walk and a red light. But because I was on a bike, and there were no cars crossing at the same time I was, my light magically turned red and hers green. We all have these stories, no matter what kind of road user we are. You realize that, right?
And I have a bridge to sell you…,
There will be a Public Hearing at the Parks & Environment Committee of Community Board 7 (joint with our Transportation Committee) on Safety for Pedestrians of Crossing the Central Park Drives. January 12th, 6:30PM. In person or online. Please come!
If it’s not enforced, it’s irrelevant.
What a joke. E-bikes should not be allowed in the park. Period.
good thing you don’t decide
As I have said for years, if cyclists want to share the roadways with cars, cyclists need to be licensed by passing a written test and a road test, carry insurance, and follow the rules of the road by obeying traffic signs and signals. Ignoring the laws will result in ticketing, points on their license, and eventual confiscation of their bicycle, plus possible imprisonment. This is my Christmas wish. Who’s with me?
And plates. All of what David mentions will allow for accountability and the better documentation of accidents and the how and where of them. Judging by how many people I see here complaining of being hit, it may be time for this “most favored nation” status of cyclists to end.
E-Vehicle Safety Alliance is with you. nycevsa.org.
We are all culpable, and of course responsible for our own safety. Yes, vehicle operators of all sorts sometimes act irresponsibly or recklessly. But so do pedestrians.
I have biked, Citibiked (the e bike), scootered, walked, jogged, wheelchaired, driven in a car, skateboarded, kick scootered, inline skated (when I was much much younger). While we cannot control what the e-biker or racer or other pedestrian does while on the road, we can be much more aware of our surroundings. I see people doing this in the middle of a busy road, looking away from on coming traffic, against their light, on their phones. They seem to be daring someone to hit them so they can get a settlement.
Really, how many times a day will you see someone crossing the street, not at a crossing, going against the flow of traffic, ON THEIR PHONES, with HEADPHONES ON??! You can argue that they have a right to expect safe streets, but being completely oblivious to others on the road, and expecting others to yield, well, that’s inviting an accident.
Heaven help us all avoid accidents and injury, regardless of who is at fault..,
We are NOT all culpable, dude.
The million dollar question is enforcement! Anyone that is in the park can observe that many e bikes go over 20 MPH now so reducing it to 15 is an empty gesture. Is anyone addressing how this will be enforced?
A critical and missing piece of this admirable initiative is, who is going to consistently enforce the speed limit on the bicycles and motorized vehicles? Pedestrians continue being put at risk and I don’t think the Central Park Conservancy has the desire or will to see this through. They seem to value the cyclists much more than the pedestrians and children. We were better off when we had the cars in the park because, at least, they stopped for the lights.
What does the Central Park Police Force do. How many officers work in that precinct just north of the Great Lawn. It always seems that there are lots of cars parked right across the transverse.
Are these officers responsible for areas outside of the park as well.
The new lane assignments and markings have not solved any problems and may have created some new ones. If you are traveling counter-clockwise (as the bicycles are) he far right lane is supposed to be for ebikes and faster cyclists. The center lane for slower bikers and the left lane for walkers and runners. The markings do little to make this clear. It is not even clear in which direction the bikes should be heading.
I see more people heading in the wrong direction than before the change. Paint some damn arrows so tourists and others who are not familiar with the park will know that it’s a one-way route.
Paint the words FAST and SLOW in the correct lanes.
The flashing yellow lights at the crosswalks are confusing to cyclists and pedestrians. Red and Green are universally understood as Stop and Go. What is yellow supposed to mean?
Don’t get me started on the 15 mph speed limit for bikes. At that speed, a good cyclist will not even be breaking a sweat, let alone getting a workout. This is taking away a vital resource for the many avid cyclists in NYC.
Note to Cyclists: Stop at the red lights and let the pedestrians cross safely. Then you can sprint away from the light to add some oomph to your workout.
the problem with slow and fast lanes is the pedicab and horse’s use both, and then people need to ride around them and the whole thing is lost.
Electric cargo bikes are a game changer for parents with young kids in NYC. Taxis and Ubers are unsafe and illegal without car seats, the bus is not stroller friendly (especially if you have more than one kid), and there is no crosstown subways.
This is a quickly growing use case, and ignoring it will make your cause doomed to fail.
“This is a quickly groqing use case” is the same as saying “parents have survived without this option umtil now and could continue to survive without it”
Why not just ban everyone from the park, then no one bothers anyone!
Parents and kids have been taking buses for decades, even with strollers.
Even crosstown buses.
One difference now is that some strollers are much bigger than traditional umbrella strollers.
This way bikers will need even less effort to break the speed limit that is never enforced. I can’t wait to see the NYPD leap into action and make it clear that the law is the law. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. Sorry, I just woke up…. Nothing will change.
And?
while it is a great idea it is very unenforceable
totally missing the point of sammy’s law
Simple, cheap and efficient solution for speeding bike riders in Central Park.
Speed bumps. Guaranteed to work.
As another commenter mentioned, speed bumps don’t actually work for bikes. I can take a NYC speed hump on my bike at 30mph and actually enjoy it! The only speed bumps that could actually affect a cyclist would be too dangerous, such as cobbles, because narrow tires, like on road bikes, could slip into the grooves no matter what the speed and cause the rider to crash. This would be too dangerous for cyclists and too costly for the city because the personal injury lawsuits would bankrupt it.