by Yvonne Vávra
We see what we look at. I’ve been thinking about this lately because I learned a new word: iniquitous. I had managed to get by without it since I came to this country. Never encountered it, never needed it—until one day I stumbled across this vowel-heavy, letter-salad of a word in a newspaper and looked it up. And now it’s suddenly everywhere. It shows up in articles, conversations, podcasts, and it feels iniquitous of me to have ignored such a fine word for so long.
This is what brains do. Once we notice something, we start noticing it everywhere. You see one person smoking, then maybe another, and suddenly think: Is everyone smoking again? Rest assured, from then on, your attention will keep finding more examples to confirm that they are.
I recently became aware that a lot of Upper West Siders eat ice cream in what—to me—is not ice cream weather. Now all of you are eating ice cream all the time. Are you? All I know is that my brain is tuned to spot every cone and cup and ignores anything that doesn’t support my belief that you’re all doing ice cream wrong.
The more unusual something seems, the more it sticks—especially if it feels like a threat. Like a ruthless e-bike rider. Once you’ve seen a few frightening examples of reckless cycling, your brain starts scanning for them everywhere. You notice every near miss, every bad story, every rider who confirms what you already suspect: that dangerous bikers are all over the place. What fades into the background are the dozens of completely unremarkable, friendly cyclists in between.
If what we mostly notice are rule-breaking riders, it’s understandable to be concerned about the city’s plan to add a bike lane to 72nd Street. A portion of the Upper West Side is strongly opposed to it. They’re not convinced by the city’s promise that the change will improve safety for everyone. The main worry is that pedestrians, especially seniors and people with disabilities, will be at risk when crossing the bike lane or getting into a double-parked car. At a rally against the plan last weekend, one resident said that “stepping off of your curb onto a bi-directional bike lane is suicide.”
Hm. I’d say stepping off the curb is always a risky moment. It’s a street, full of fast-moving, unpredictable traffic that can hit you if you don’t make sure it’s safe to cross.
But while my mind is racing with thoughts, I’m not going to settle the debate over the 72nd Street bike lane in this column. What interests me more is the figure at its center: “the biker.”
They ride into the conversation as an urban menace that knows no laws—a force that slips through red lights, materializes out of nowhere, and is now somehow being rewarded with infrastructure. But the thing about “bikers” is how quickly they turn back into people once you actually look at them.
It’s a woman biking to work, a guy heading to a date, a dad taking his kid to school, a delivery worker trying to make rent, me with my puppy in a basket. We’re all just ordinary New Yorkers, trying to get somewhere in one piece.
It’s hard not to think this very mixed group deserves a measure of safety too. People on bikes are also constantly navigating dangers created by others: cars veering unexpectedly, passengers flinging open doors, double-parked vehicles forcing cyclists into traffic, pedestrians wandering into bike lanes—and yes, reckless riders too.
What may feel unsettling is not simply the bike lane itself, but the attempt to reorganize a choreography the neighborhood has long learned to navigate. However, change is coming, and the conversation about the 72nd Street redesign might feel different if we looked a little more closely at the full mix of people we call “bikers,” not just the ones who stand out.
To be sure, New Yorkers on bikes have a long history of alarming parts of the Upper West Side. When the bicycle craze rolled into the city in the late 19th century, many residents regarded the new riders as a threat to the way things were. The businessmen of the West Side Association, founded in 1866 to shape the neighborhood into an investor-friendly enclave, complained bitterly about cyclists zipping through the streets and parks. Others were especially troubled by women on bikes. Some were convinced that cycling could cause sexual arousal or might even enlarge women’s hands into something distressingly masculine.
Different eras, different fears.
Yvonne Vávra is a magazine writer and author of the German book 111 Gründe New York zu lieben (111 Reasons to Love New York). Born a Berliner but an aspiring Upper West Sider since the 1990s (thanks, Nora Ephron), she came to New York in 2010 and seven years later made her Upper West Side dreams come true. She’s been obsessively walking the neighborhood ever since.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
I am a recreational cyclist, and used to love cycling on New York’s bike paths. Not anymore. It just isn’t safe, now that we have e-bikes, delivery people riding (literally) motorcycles on them, scooters (and e-scooters), and as always, careless pedestrians, especially those with small children who fail to remember that they are sharing the roads with cyclists. And I never ever felt safe cycling on New York City streets.
Irony is, last October I was in Japan, and not only felt safe cycling on the bike paths, but also felt safe cycling on busy roads (in the highly populated streets in both Kyoto and Osaka.). Why? Drivers, pedestrians, and other cyclists actually respect the law, and each other. I recently did a cycling trip in Chile, with all cycling taking place on roads (though not in large cities) and again felt safe, much safer than in NYC.
It’s a shame because Bloomberg spent so much time and efforts to create all these bike roads, but to what avail?
Yes, go ahead and create that bike lane on 72nd street, but I doubt it will do much good for the cyclists, let alone anyone else.
Do the ebikes ride in bike lanes in other countries? Having vehicles moving at different speeds in the same space is where the problems arise – that’s why officially ebikes and escooters aren’t allowed on the bike paths along the Hudson – but the road would be much more dangerous for them, for the same reason. That’s also why runners should keep out of bike lanes – where I suspect they run to avoid slow walkers on the crowded pedestrian paths along the Hudson. We don’t have space to separate everyone (walkers, runners, human-powered vehicles, e-vehicles, motor vehicles), but creating three routes (walkers, bikes and scooters, motor vehicles) is probably safer on the whole than only two.
Are there as many badly paid deliveristas in other countries with the expectation that food will arrive instantly and pay based on how many deliveries they make? Requiring that they be paid a living hourly wage might have a major impact on their incentive to speed.
The fundamental difference between ebikes banned from the Greenway south of 57 &, for example, e assist bikes (which are legal) is you don’t need to pedal fully powered ebikes and scooters. And that helps free the throttled bike rider to be distracted. Which is why a few die a year in one vehicle crashes.
Most throttled bikes are operated by delivery workers, and they have ample lanes on avenues on the west side. They don’t even have to pedal to get there.
the same in barcelona. cyclists are ticketed right away for not obeying the law and helmets are mandatory!
Yes and similar in Amsterdam. Upon arrival for my first visit there last month, the taxi driver warned me to watch out for cyclists. I asked if it was as dangerous as NYC; he replied “worse”. Thank you my friendly taxi driver, but you were incorrect. Amsterdam cyclists follow rules of the road! So simple and yet amazing compared to NYC.
I am an all-of-the above. And I ride a lot. I would be as unhappy about losing my right to ride as I would if my car were banned from Manhattan.
And what strikes me as I ride is how thoroughly my fellow riders have conditioned pedestrians to cower before us. As I approach a yield sign or steady red a pedestrian with the right of way won’t cross unless I waive them through and smile or say ‘you have the light.’
That almost never happens with cars and the difference in behavior is obvious.
And what’s also striking is the bike lobby (exemplified by streetsblog and comments on media like this and Gothamist) constantly insisting that “bikelash” is all about divers wanting parking space and ginned up, irrational old folk.
Bikelash exits for multiple reasons and riders have to acknowledge the fact that their own actions are a major cause.
Wonderfully written.
I get all that, but it still totally pisses me off when I am in a crosswalk with green light and a person on a bike crosses in front of me against a red light so close I can smell the BO .
Sandra, I do understand the way you feel. I feel the same way when riding my bike in the bike lane and a pedestrian steps out into the bike lane or street in front of me and I have to take evasive action. This happens at least once on every single ride I take in NYC. Now, should I take that out on you and be against any money that the city is going to spend to enhance pedestrian safety? Should I be against the idea of installing additional crosswalks or leading pedestrian intervals at intersections until the police start cracking down on jaywalkers and people who step off the curb anywhere other than at a legal intersection? I also see at least one drive run a red light on each of my rides (about 2.5 mile commute). Most rides I see 3-4 drivers blatantly run a red light. Should I start fighting against all drivers also? The author’s point is a great one. Any I think we should all heed her point. But most of the comments I see below, not surprisingly, miss her point completely.
Police can’t crack down on jaywalkers. Ot isn’t illegal as of 2024. I would be happy to see it made illegal again. Let’s get the jaywalkers and the cyclists not following the rules tickets.
Yes. Cars often start moving forward before the light changes but so many bikes disregard the lights entirely. It is not so bad with the regular bikes because they are not too fast, but the ebikes?
Not convinced this change will be safer for everyone as the previously implemented bike lanes make if feel more dangerous for pedestrians. Are there any stats on pedestrian injuries from bike collisions?
Police will no longer file reports on bikes hitting pedestrians unless they are “killed or maimed”. So of course the accident rate is dropping.
I agree the protected bike lanes feel much more dangerous than when bikers are forced to ride on traffic.
Not to cyclists or, I suspect, to drivers!
I’d be interested in how many cyclists ride on the sidewalk when a bike lane is available vs when it isn’t.
I rode to my job as a school teacher in Harlem for 30 yrs in traffic before the advent of e-bikes. I had one minor accident with a car and she took responsiblity. E-bikes belong with traffic registered and licensed. Europe has many more laws for e-bikes than we have and some countries require an internation drivers license before you can rent one.
A second and major factor in reported injuries is that cars have insurance and that means almost very injury is reported and in many cases exaggerated.
By contrast bikes aren’t insured and reporting serves little purpose because there’s no practical recourse against most riders.
Our local papers -here the West Side Spirit – just won awards for showing how injuries from bikes are unreported. Hopefully this will put to rest the continued resort to ‘official data’ in denial of reality.
https://www.ourtownny.com/news/our-town-wins-awards-for-exposing-gaps-in-pedestrian-bike-injury-reporting-JG5796975
Thank you Paul for the link to Our Town. I have been reading articles on the e-bike situation for years. And that quote in Our Town—disclosing that since 2020 the NYPD policy has been told to refrain from reporting on people hit by bikes—unless the victim dies or suffers grave injury—that has never been covered in any news media. What a terrible NYPD policy—it covers up a crisis for ordinary New Yorkers who are simply trying to walk in their City.
It stands to reason that a designated bike lane on one side of the street will be more organized and safer than what we have now — bikes on both sides of the street navigating cars, trucks, and pedestrians. The bikes are already there. The changes will obviously make things somewhat safer.
It is not at all apparent that these changes will make things safer. The DOT says bike lanes make thingsvsafer but I have not been able to find any data about bidirectional bike lanes that bus riders will need to walk across when getting on or off a bus. The bikes won’t stop for them (any why should they, they’ll be crossing mid block).
The DOT presentation has 2 pages of data that proves overwhelming that bike lanes result in fewer pedestrian KSI (killed or seriously injured) Go to the CB7 website to get a link to the report. Senior KSI drop 39% on average.
Fewer pedestrians killed or seriously injured but they have no data on what do many posters on here report — ‘just’ broken bones. This has been posted before but maybe you missed it.
https://www.ourtownny.com/news/our-town-wins-awards-for-exposing-gaps-in-pedestrian-bike-injury-reporting-JG5796975
How many of the bike lanes on that repoet are bi-directional with bus stops on the other side? On most streets car traffic is ine way so the bike lanes are on the opposite side of the street as the vike lanes. Is this situation addrssed anywhere in the data?
Would, could, should.
Unless the riders obey the rules?
Won’t.
Read my reply to the first comment, above, about pedestrians being cowed by riders.
On my way home on West End literally a half hour ago at 84th the light in front of me turned red. An older pedestrian waived me through in reply to my waiving him through. I told him ‘you have the light,’ as I stopped and he literally broke into the widest grin I’ve seen since attending Book of Mormon.
That is how cowed we’ve made pedestrians. And that’s what we riders need to change.
The DOT has what it calls “stats”, but their methodology is, to put it politely, questionable. Under NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law, accidents are reported without distiction between whether the “vehicle” involved is a car, ebike, or bicycle. Thus, of the thousands of crashes with pedestrians every year, it’s possible that 1% were caused by bikes and it’s also possible that 99% were caused by bikes, and it’s likely that the percentage was somewhere in between. But DOT has no actual stats. The V&TL was revised effective 2025 but use of updated reporting forms has not been implemented. What you can find are reports of hundreds of pedestrians who have been injured (and some killed) by bikes, most of which never involved any official report. https://www.nycevsa.org/ recounts some of those incidents.
THIS IS FALSE. DOT does have the data as to type of vehicle causing a crash.
Having been seriously injured (3 broken ribs) by a speeding biker who left the scene before he could be identified, I have no sympathy for bikers who break the law, as so many do. And it is normal people on regular bikes as well as the messengers on e-bikes.
Peter, Sorry this crime happened to you.
Once every 2 or 3 weeks I see a cyclist actually obey the traffic laws. I am always startled when I see it. Bikers who obey the law are a rare exception. Adult Bikers who race along the UWS sidewalks are an increasingly familiar sight. And why not—a e-biker motoring along the sidewalk doesn’t need to look out for cars and trucks—the cyclist automatically becomes the apex predator.
I moved from the UWS to Soho, and the number of bikes and e-bikes on the sidewalks here is out of control. These are all “adult” cyclists, btw.
You are talking nonsense. Adult cyclists very rarely ride on the sidewalks. Riding on the sidewalk is extremely inconvenient, why would we do it? Children ride on the sidewalks. Usually (though not always) their parents are ensuring that they are not a threat to pedestrians.
I have NEVER encountered a human-powered cyclist racing on the sidewalk.
As an adult cyclist I have been known to ride on the sidewalk, very slowly, with total focus on pedestrians, when the street is cobblestone and I have no alternative to using that route (exiting the Hudson River bike trail around 14th St area). I’m guessing those cobblestone streets are landmarked, but they are impossible for cyclists.
I have never seen an ebike who is not a deliverista ride on the sidewalk. Ever.
Deliveristas do ride on the sidewalk, usually to get from start to street or from street to destination. Rarely have I seen one cross the street and continue on the sidewalk. They shouldn’t ever ride on the sidewalks. They also run red lights without looking. If they were paid a decent hourly wage instead of peanuts per delivery, I’m guessing their behavior might change.
It’s not as common as running red lights, but I see it pretty often. Not sure if they’re adults because they go by too fast to tell.
How about having some form of law enforcement against bikers who do not follow traffic rules? Or require some form of rules of the road tests and licensing for e-bikes? So many bikers and e-bikers choose not to stop at lights, use arm signals for turns, and otherwise abuse a lax system making it unsafe for themselves, drivers in cars and pedestrians. And what about enforcing helmet laws?
It’s hard for the police because the dangerous riders go right around any blockade at high speed, if they’re even on the path to begin with. This leaves only the safe (or relatively safe) cyclists who might be slowly, carefully going through a red light caught in the sweep to boost “enforcement” numbers. I anticipate some will say that NO cyclist should go through a red light under any circumstances, but that’s like saying pedestrians should never jaywalk. By the way, as of the last time I looked into it, there are no helmet laws.
I agree that ebikes — which are motorbikes with electric rather than gas motors — go very fast, very quietly, and are often ridden by people who don’t know what they’re doing. For this reason, I agree licensing ebikes is a good idea. I wouldn’t be opposed to it for regular bicycles either, but I don’t think it would help.
As to the 72nd St. bike path, there’s a center-of-the-road bike lane on Center Street downtown that works surprisingly well under extremely busy traffic conditions. I think a similar one could work here. It would answer the concerns of the shop owners, and give pedestrians a spot to pause if they can’t make it all the way across the wide street.
That sounds like a sensible solution. Are the Center Street bike lanes “protected ;i.e., some type of barrier between the bike lanes and the auto lanes? If not,I’m sure cyclists would find them unacceptable. As a senior with mobility issues, I am totally against the proposed 72nd Street redesign.
The premise of the author’s column is cute, but I don’t think it applies. I’m looking at every biker that’s coming and going in both directions (even on what is supposed to be a one-way street) every single time I cross the street every day. The amount of bikers that slow down all the way and stop and wait at a red light pales in comparison to the number of bikers that barely slow down, except to make sure there isn’t a car coming, veritably ignoring pedestrians who have the right of way. The amount of bikers who stop properly is so few in number that I intentionally make eye contact with them and say thank you for stopping. To those that speed by, I yell, “Red light!” The overwhelming majority of those don’t miss a single beat.
Yes. I am genuinely surprised when they stop because the vast majority don’t
You are absolutely correct. The vast majority of bikers are totally out of control
There’s a difference between slowing rather than stopping at red lights and being totally out of control.
Jerry, I could not agree more. And I am also screaming the same. Red Light! Or Thanks for stopping. Definitely more of the first than the second
I’m proud to say I stop, but I get your point. I get amazed when I bike down the Hudson Greenway when the cruise ships dock. You get a red light on the path and they even have a traffic guard at the crossing holding a STOP sign and some bikers totally ignore everything and fly by.
As a cyclist, I love that they have crossing guards there! I totally stop for them, and when I ride past I thank them. I wonder if the cruise lines would be liable if a passenger got hit by a bike debarking?
I was terrified crossing the roads in Central Park even BEFORE they took away ( covered up, actually) the traffic lights/ Walk/Don’t Walk signs. Not that bikers stopped for red lights there either
I think you left out the plethora of e-bike delivery people.
Those are a danger and go unreported.
The problem is many of the “bicycles” you encounter are actually motorcycles; like the one in the last photo. These should be classified motor vehicles. That would solve everyone’s fears.
It’s so simple. Why isn’t it implemented? If your conveyance has a motor of any kind, you must have insurance and registration. It won’t be expensive.
For that matter, if they sold insurance for un-motored bicycles, it would be dirt cheap.
A seemingly thoughtful point of view. But also an apologist for people in general on bikes. I doubt there would be such a backlash if bikers, whether on e-bikes or on traditional ones, observed traffic laws and the safety of pedestrians. Currently, most don’t, and almost everyone in the city has dodged bikers coming at them from every direction, been hit by a bike, or knows someone who has either been injured or narrowly escaped being badly hurt. No pun intended, but what goes around, comes around, and if bikers won’t ride responsibly, they should be treated as the menace to public safety that many of them currently are.
Absolutely. Been hit twice. Once on the river promenade in Riverside Park, and another two blocks from my apartment. The latter got up and screamed at me for being in his way. Neither were e-bikes or delivery guys. Neither were younger than 35.
And the RSP promenade north of 72nd for at least 10 blocks is supposed to be pedestrians only.
Spot on and wonderfully written as usual Yvonne!
Thank you for such a well written article. I am 76 and have biked in the city for years. This spring I decided to limit my cycling to Central Park. I am fortunate that I live a block away from the Park so getting there is not a problem, I used to love my rides across the Brooklyn Bridge, down to Governor’s Island, up to the Cloisters etc etc. However it’s become simply too dangerous. While there are many factors contributing to this the single greatest is the delivery guys. Even on the West Side Bike bath they speed on their scooters often with loud music playing. Of course every pedestrian is aware of the danger they present. I live on 57th St. and there is a mid block light. Never once have I seen a delivery guy stop at it. Of course so many of them ride on the sidewalk it’s maddening. I personally think serious enforcement with serious penalties is long overdue.
I never had the courage to bicycle on the streets of Manhattan, and so I fully understand and support the expansion of bike lanes. BUT, bicyclists have to begin complete adherence to traffic laws that apply to them. It is not just the messengers who ignore the rules of the road. It is also the everyday people you describe in your article. Law-abiding bicyclists are so rare, I actually thank them when I witness their compliance with a red light or other rule. Until then, they will remain a frightening addition to the roadscape, especially for us aging population with slowing reflexes and lessening ability to jump out of the way in a flash.
This is true. Almost every time I stop for someone, they look surprised. Often, I have to say, “You have the right of way” before they’ll dare to move. This is another reason a lot of cyclists probably don’t stop — to avoid this common encounter, which in turn is caused by fear of dangerous riders.
Once a bike crashed into me on my peugeot racer and destroyed it bicycling is a hobby of my past. Though I purchased an electric Cannondale for use on Cape Cod and decided I’ll stop riding .
Fine article by the way. Bus lane, bike lane no one enforces the rules except the parking rules.
Note: This is for the Bike Touring Groups that will not obey the laws 20 people on bike in a group with 1 instructor. Where are the rules in this industry. The professionals will do what they want, and so will the deli8very guys. This re-design is for these Touring Companies.
I was almost flattened yesterday (thankfully, I’m quite slow and extra careful with a broken foot and a cane, so I my pace was slower than I would’ve normally been) by a zoom-by-on-E-wheels who was weaving through traffic and burst into the crosswalk in a red light. I took (an ouchy!) sudden step back to avoid becoming a pancake. There was zero acknowledgement, zero apology, zero regard for others. I have nothing against all bikes, and I appreciate the unobstructed view that is (usually) available to see whether bikers are arriving). However, the enforcement for E-bikes and E-scooters and for against-traffic-riders needs to be revamped along with the addition of more protected lanes for bikers. The bikers who ride by the rules are not the problem. The lack of enforcement (or way to enforce, even) is. Why not have bikes be registered so errant ones can be tracked, and fines be actually levied on those who give all bike riders a bad name?
We need accountability! Licensing And, there must be required safety features — a simple light – so we can see them coming at night, and they can see each other. What happened to plan common sense rules?
Lights are required but not standardized. Sometimes they’re absent, sometimes they resemble a disco club, and sometimes they’re blindingly bright.
Bikers ride motorcycles. Cyclists ride bicycles. Simple. E-bikes make things more complicated.
We should just let them all ride mopeds and follow the rules for such and rip out the bike lanes.
The problems are not cyclist, cars, or pedestrians. It’s the total idiots that make up a portion of these categories and once you encounter them, we stereotype everybody in the category. The battle should be all of us against the idiots. “What fades into the background are the dozens of completely unremarkable, friendly cyclists in between.” Exactly!
I find that many more bikers and e-bikers ignore traffic laws than follow them. This is a danger to pedestrians.
Which is exactly the point of the author. Our “observations” are not statistical studies, although our minds make them out to be. We see the bad behavior everywhere but are ignoring the good behavior because it doesn’t register with us. Her exact point.
Which, as I was reading the article, brought to mind the “not all men” argument. Everyone needs to be a part of the solution , which means it could be more impactful if rule following cyclists were united with pedestrians and drivers in pushing for greater enforcement against law breaking cyclists/ebikers and things like, speed limits, testing and licensing, and maybe even insurance, etc.
Also, “observations” can certainly be dismissed, but I live a block away from 72nd Street and I can tell you without question that my “observation” is that my head is on swivel for bikes, e or otherwise, at every intersection every time I cross.
If you’re a person who orders delivery then you’re a person who must support bike lines. No ivory tower hypocrisy, thank you!
umm, there was delivery before there even existed bike lanes, so your point is off-kilter.
You possibly meant:
if you are a person who orders delivery through an app service like grub hub, then you are part of the negative incentive structure which has sprung up around e-delivery.
Maybe stop using the apps and just walk down the street and pick up your own food, rather than complain about e-bikes.
(there, fixed it for you!)
on the other hand, I don’t think it’s too much to expect anyone on a cycle of any sort to show respect for pedestrians, and pedestrian right of way, and also not bike on sidewalks if they are over the age of 12.
Not at all. Ordering in and disobeying all traffic laws are two completely different things. It’s like using cutlery to eat dinner and stabbing someone to death. Apples and Oranges and Dogs and Cats. Up Down. North South. East West. Not relevant.
Sorry, but ordering delivery is neither a sin nor a crime. And really has no bearing on support for the bike lane.
Excellent point. I agree
The writer clearly is uninformed regarding the danger of e-bikes and the very ill-conceived 2-way bike lane. This is not just a danger to seniors, but everyone.
I learned how to ride in Manhattan as a child, and have ridden for decades pre and post bike lane boom.
I *do not ride in the bike lanes* anymore, save the West Side path. They are too narrow, bi-directional, and full of motorized vehicles that the lanes have NEVER been designed for. At least in traffic, I’ve got enough room to maneuver out of a hazard’s way. It’s not for everyone – you’ve got to have the confidence and the strength to accelerate quickly – but that is the reality. I’ve been hit multiple times in the bike lanes, by vehicles, pedestrians (yes some of you are unaware or out of your minds), and other cyclists.
There are three major failings from an institutional perspective: NYS failing to aggressively regulate the sale of “ebikes”, which in all reality are motor vehicles, failing to restrict/ban/punish e-bike and e-scooter riders on an individual level (sorry but NYPD do have to enforce this as well as ghost plates etc), and Citibike pushing a whole fleet of ebikes (gray Citibikes) into circulation. Citibike riders are among the most reckless in NYC, hands down.
On a personal level: if you are wearing a crash helmet while riding in the bike lane, you’re on a motor vehicle. If you’re riding the wrong way in a bike lane, you’re the problem.
This leaves aside the spandex/Tour de Faux crowd, who have their own problems, are pretty hilarious to seasoned riders and generally are trying to replace their lack of personality with $8k bikes and expensive gear.
All this said – there are far too many cars in Manhattan. Institute residential parking permits, alternate days when odd/even numbered plates are restricted from driving on the entire island, and enforce moving violations. Dangerous driving is a pervasive problem and I see terrifying examples of it every day, all throughout Manhattan.
Two comments. First, I’m afraid to walk the path along the Hudson River in Riverside Park because of the high speed bikers. Second, this article appears to ignore all the e-bikers and regular bikers who endanger people by breaking traffic laws.
Recreational/commuter (pedal) cyclist, use the lanes, but I don’t treat it as a racetrack. I try to be careful and yes, the eye contact at an intersection with a pedestrian (elderly or otherwise) is invariably appreciated – it’s as simple as “you see us and we see you” versus total disregard, which nobody likes, hence the anger against the few (fewer, at least) who blow past pedestrians at red lights – not cool. Slow down, let them see your hands on the brakes (yes, I find pedestrians take notice of where your hands are placed) and a slow-rolling-head turning stop at minimum, which engenders goodwill. The e-bike/deliveristas is just unfortunate. I steer clear and remarkably even with lanes inevitably//unofficially becoming two way they seem to steer clear of me as well (some even stop/slow down curbside), so there’s an unwritten truce between the pedal cyclists and them I think. But no excuses, they need to be more respectful/considerate. Will they? Prob not, bc time is money. Difficult problem to solve, leave that to the urban engineers. But the heart of this article is right – many (most?) pedal cyclists are also pedestrians (of course) and try to do the right thing I think.
I enjoyed this story very much, but it lacked one key element regarding “we see what we see”: When I walk around NYC all I see are cars — they are EVERYWHERE: stored on both sides of every single street, filling almost the entirety of the rest of the moving lanes, double-parking and clogging our roadways, belching pollution, and, yes, running red lights and speeding.
Yes, I see cyclists, too, but mostly I see a city whose streets are CHOKED with cars that are squeezing the life out of us and our businesses.
We live in America. There are going to be cars for the foreseeable future.
Gersh,
In Manhattan CP area most vehicles are commercial – service, construction, delivery, Uber etc.
Actually Uber and ecommerce have contributed to more vehicles on the streets.
Many people unaware that lots of ecommerce deliveried by gig workers using own cars.
Ecommerce use and high rent are wrecking local retail and businesses
Once you notice how much cars are choking our streets is it’s hard to unsee
Streetcars and horse drawn carriages were worse, much worse!
Thank you for this article. I am 100% in favor of this change. I ride a bike every day and I deserve to have a safer way to go than how 72nd St is now. I respect the traffic laws and I am very respectful of pedestrians. As most of us are, I am a pedestrian more often than I am a cyclist.
Some bikers break the rules. Some pedestrians break the rules. Let’s try to make the streets as safe as we can.
Here’s the thing, when pedestrians break the rules (and they do, no question), they are unlikely to harm someone else. Only themselves. This matters. You cannot conflate rule breaking by pedestrians with rule breaking by someone in or on wheels.
Pedestrian and bus-subway rider and non-driver here.
With respect….
Family and friends have been hit by Citibikers and racing bicyclists.
In my experience, Citbikers endanger pedestrians but perhaps more concerning, Citibikers don’t seem to hesitate to curse any pedestrian who objects.
The bicycle lobby Transportation Alternatives is quite unkind to anyone who objects to them.
At community meetings, in Streetsblog etc
Transportation Alternatives even denigrates bus riders who oppose Open Streets
Transportation Alternatives is 100% responsible for getting cars out of Central Park and Prospect Park. TA is responsible for getting bicycles off the shared pedestrian path on the Brooklyn Bridge and getting a pedestrian only path on the 59th Street Bridge. TA spearheaded the implementation of red light and speed cameras which have helped cut pedestrian deaths in NYC from 200 per year to 100 per year. SCIENCE works. Fear mongering does not.
What is TA position on licence plates foe e-Bikes? If they, like cars, could be ticketed for.running red lights I think there would be less pushback about bike lanes.
NJ recently passed a law requiring a licence for riding an e bike as well as requiring them to be registered and insured. What is TA position on doing this in NY?
TransAlt is focused on bicyclists and improving bicycle infrastructure. TransAlt prioritizes bicyclists over pedestrians and mass transit users.
TransAlt does not represent me and my family or help us as pedestrians and mass transit users.
TransAlt members even deride using transit.
How many of these cyclist’s actually use West 72nd.
I never see them.
You must not have your eyes open. I bike 72nd daily and always see many fellow cyclists.
We see what we want to see? There are literally double digits delivery bikes starting at Kossars every morning before breakfast. This is just one restaurant. There are easily one hundred bikes locked on W72nd during business hours everyday. I’m guessing they use 72nd street? You should get out some more.
Btw, I don’t order food delivery, I go in-person (sit down) or pick up takeout orders large and small. I’ve seen people delivering McDonald’s breakfast to my building a block away.
I’m guessing all the people who support this new billion dollar industry are also too busy to post comments on the WSR.
Dear Yvonne,
You do not speak of the bikes we talk about the ones sure to use and abuse these lanes are e-vehicles. They go faster than cars, and are way heavier than any pedal bike. And most or many do not follow laws and are totally disrespectful of pedestrians because there are no consequences.
It is NOT anyone’s imagination that I was hit!!
Riding a bike on the sidewalk is illegal everywhere in New York State. But the police don’t enforce compliance and too many bikers ride on sidewalks heedless of the safety of pedestrians and strollers. If you tell them they’re not supposed to be on the sidewalk, almost 100% of the time their response is “F*** you!”
You do not speak of pedal bikes, but the ones we speak of are actual e-vehicles. They travel up to 40mph , and no most do not follow the laws of the road or even common decency.
I should know, it is not my imagination that I was hit by such a vehicle and remain paralyzed on my right side.
Yet another apologia that tries to excuse selfish entitled bike riders who continue breaking the law making the rest of live in their warped bike paradise Well it isn’t paradise. It’s a chaotic living hell. When I look at these bike riders after 5 years of this unregulated nightmare I see sociopaths doing whatever the hell they please. They could care less whether the rest of live or die or worse suffer a traumatic brain injury. I have grown to despise them.
“Once we notice something, we start noticing it everywhere.” That expectation may work for ice cream and smokers, but it doesn’t apply to the exceptional biker stopped at a red light. Look around all you may, you are not likely to encounter another such exception for many months!
This article sounds like it was written by Transportation Alternatives , the bike lobbying organization. I guess the point of it is to tell me I should not believe my lying eyes when I see a motorized vehicle (e-bike) fly through a red light, inches from my nose. I am fully aware of all the speeding, weaving, arrogant bike riders that I see daily. Like many others, I often thank bike riders who stop to let me cross the street. That’s because so few do, and courtesy deserves thanks. We need all motorized vehicles licensed and insured. The 72nd street bi-directional bike speedway is insanity until then.
as a loyal reader of Yvonne’s column, I have to disagree with as unwritten premise: bikers can ride in NYC if their careful. THE FACT IS STREETS ARE TOO CHAOTIC for safe riding. As unpleasant as it is, you just have to accept that. When I moved to the UWS in ’95, I brought my bike. But after a few rides, I realized that eventually Id have an accident. Drivers in NYC are worried mainly about other vehicles and not so much about things that can’t harm them. And bikes fall into that category.
My experience riding is totally opposite of yours.
Ride with care, choose your routes wisely, and be ready to brake at all times because things happen, and it’s safe.
Hint: Crosstown? Use the one way streets, ride in the direction of traffic, and keep to the left (passenger). side.
I think you mean keep to the left on One Way streets and avenues. This keeps the cyclists on the “Drivers’ side”, more centered in their field of vision. Right hooks kill many NY’ers because drivers of large vehicles don’t visually scan that far right and don’t see people (e.g. CPW). The 2 fatalities near CP (W86th and E96th) were from drivers of large vehicles not looking for and not seeing the people they killed.
W72nd has been safer than the other CP transverses ever since the DoT banned cars from CP, so it’s no longer a “CP transverse”. If you want to see drivers’ speed and aggression, just go down to 65th and CPW. One can also see how often drivers run the red light at the end of every cycle. I fear NYC drivers more than ebike operators, but total chaos is not acceptable either.
Tax the delivery apps and lazy diners to pay for traffic enforcement, including drivers’ failure to yield.to pedestrians.
Drivers often do run lights as they change, and about 99% of us have adjusted to that fact. If it were up to me I’d put a camera at EVERY light, which would stop it.
But riders run lights at all stages of the interval. That is why pedestrians are cowed, and that’s why they hate us.
The transverses lack the width for safe riding. The City should convert a sidewalk on one or two to bike lanes or add reasonable bike paths across at 86 & 96 using the bridal path south of 86 and one of the multiple cross park paths north of 96. BUT riders would have to use them with a greater respect than too many show now. Average NYers won’t support these because, again, too many don’t.
You’re in dreamland. Look at the laws Paris has concerning bikes and you will see a far more civilized approach then NYC which is the Wild Wild West. Any throttle assisted bike needs license and insurance. Helmets mandatory. 20 mph max on pedal bikes. No Escooter rentals etc. Look at NYT recent article bike brain injuries. Numerous and over 50% are pedestrians they hit. I cycle, have a pedal asst bike, rollerblade, drive and walk. We have mayhem. In the 80s I. got a ticket for riding on the sidewalk 3mph from the corner to my door. Today our officers just turn a blind eye.
I miss bicycles, two wheels, powered by the cycling rider. The city was different when most riders moved at a reasonable speed. Motorized vehicles would do well in the lane with other motorized vehicles, moving the in direction of traffic. The plan for bidirectional lanes on one side of the street for all two wheel vehicles does not seem wise or safe for those on bicycles or on foot. As the city considers the licensing of all motorized vehicles I think cyclists and pedestrians will have more in common.
As a longtime reader of the WSR, I scrolled through the photos used to illustrate this article and realized that the article would likely not deal with my actual experience, as a pedestrian, regarding bikes, scooters and e-bikes. That experience is entirely about bikers ignoring traffic laws. That experience includes, at least a few times every month, month after month, my having a near miss with serious injury due to the way that bikers behave.
It didn’t used to be dangerous on this level 20-30 years ago. But safety for UWS pedestrians is a thing of the past.
I am also concerned that changing 4 lanes of auto and bus traffic into 2 lanes will create a terrible traffic jam and increase poor air quality.The over flow will spill into smaller side streets, making them less safe.
WRONG!! MOST bikers ignore ALL the traffic rules!! Especially on UWS. I say stick them in the lanes trucks and cars since they refuse to obey the rules, including not riding on the sidewalk. e.g., no riding on the sidewalks. Besides everyone keeps saying they want more ridership on subway and bus, so send them back those forms of transportation.
So many of these comments are just absolutely appalling. Do folks here really not have anything better to do than complain, complain, and then complain again?
Bike. Lanes. Improve. Public. Safety.
Interesting that so many people have shared their real life experiences and you still can’t accept the fact that not everyone agrees with you. But that’s just my opinion…not a statistic. 😞
Thanks. You bring common sense to an overwrought discussion. Bikers are already on 72nd and everywhere else. Bike lanes and street redesign help impose some order ( and safety) on a chaotic situation
The pro bikers mostly convey idealistic views of yore. Bikers are fun loving, harmless riders like Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy riding to Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. Or as the picture above of an older gentleman riding an old school bike that, gasp, you have to peddle. Wouldn’t it be nice to look out at bike lanes and see a group of people peddling older bikes like they do in Amsterdam. Well, that’s not the case.
Instead ‘bikers’ now are really just motorcycle riders. Bikes are battery powered to speed at 20-25mph and especially fat tire bikes, weigh hundreds of pounds. Bikes these days are much closer to motorcycles than traditional bikes. Hence, bike lanes are far from that. Instead they are lanes for every type of battery powered vehicle people can think of. And ninety percent of them, do not abide by laws.
So, the issue is not that we don’t want bike lanes, we don’t want what the city is selling as “bike lanes.” They’re not. They are one step down from motorcycle lanes that are not patrolled one bit by the city. In turn, “bikers” know they don’t have to abide by any laws as no one enforces them. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. No thanks to motorcycle lanes on 72nd St!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! City planning has got to be one of the most thankless jobs because making people happy is an impossibility. We are set in our ways and change is so frequent in the city that no matter what and how, it is unsettling. Neighborhoods are becoming more and more anonymous and graceful behavior if not built into one’s DNA, does not get its reinforcements from the never-knowing-who-you-might-(literally)-bump-into consideration. And so we entitle ourselves to be the priority, the ones most in a hurry, the “watch where you are going” snobs. I really hope that the city takes a stricter approach to cars, requires registration of all vehicles 2 wheels and above, and does what it takes to keep the delivery industry workers safe.
The writer has the what is usual vs what is unusual all wrong.
On the Upper West Side what is UNUSUAL are cyclists who obey the law
When i have walked on the UWS the percentage of cyclists of all kinds who do NOT obey the law is something like 70-80%. Cyclists who go through red lights , cyclists not in the bike lane who go through red lights in the wrong direction. Who often when you try to get them to stop for a red light actually curse you out. They have an unwarranted sense of entitlement
Cyclists have been protected from
real accountability . They don’t have license plates on their bikes so when they disobey the law and hurt someone there is no way to find them. Police even if they are under orders to apprehend them ( and they are under orders not to apprehend them) can’t find them. They are uninsured so that people they injure have to pay for their own medical care.
There should be laws forcing them to be responsible citizens
Perhaps the word you’re looking for is ubiquitous? Iniquitous means: characterized by injustice or wickedness; wicked; sinful
this bike thing is totally unmanageable
it’s getting worse snd worse I fear the City is working itself into a horrible situation
It’s not just bikes it’s e-bikes motor bikes
dangerous vehicles is all kinds not adhering
to safety laws
It’s bad and getting worse
SOME bikers especially EBike riders are completely without any care of the responsibility they have as riders. The rest of the population are at the mercy of their whims at the moment and their decisions to speed up, swerve, ride the opposite way of designated bike traffic or using the sidewalk as a path.
It’s completely out of control. accidents are not recorded as “reported” to the NYPD unless hospital is involved.
These vehicles need to be treated the same as automobiles! All adult bikes and all eBikes and E-scooters must be licensed and registered!
delivery apps are a separate issue