By West Side Rag
A cyclist and a pedestrian collided near a crosswalk in Central Park on Monday evening.
The collision took place around 5 p.m. along West Drive near the Delacorte Theater at around West 80th Street, according to West Side Rag contributor, Sam Gross, who was in the park and saw the immediate aftermath of the incident, and Tom Nemec, who also witnessed the collision and emailed West Side Rag.
The pedestrian was bleeding profusely from her head, but was conscious, according to Gross. A group of people rushed to help her as onlookers called an ambulance.
“Her face was covered in blood,” Gross said.
The cyclist, who was also being helped by a group of bystanders and park staff, was injured as well and bleeding from his arms and legs, Gross added.
While it was unclear exactly when an ambulance was called, both Gross and Nemec noted the amount of time it took for emergency services to reach the scene. Bystanders said the incident happened at 5:08 p.m. The first ambulance reached the scene at 5:25 p.m.
Both the pedestrian and the cyclist were eventually transported out of the park by the ambulances.
West Side Rag reached out to both NYPD and FDNY for details about the collision, but neither party had any report matching the description.
Police arrived at one point before the ambulances got to the scene, but only stayed for a moment before driving away, according to eyewitnesses.
It is unclear exactly how the collision happened, but it seems like the pedestrian had just stepped onto the crosswalk to make her way across the drive when she was hit, eyewitnesses said.
The Central Park Conservancy did confirm to West Side Rag that two people were injured in the collision and taken to hospitals by ambulances, but was not at liberty to share personal information about those involved.
“Too many people on the Drives are breaking the stated rules of the road, which, as we have seen, can have life-altering consequences,” a spokesperson for the Conservancy said. “This is not acceptable. We maintain profound concerns related to high speeds—especially by e-scooters, e-bikes and non-electric racing bikes—and have long advocated for additional safety measures.”
Those additional safety measures include a 15-mph speed limit in the park, stronger and more consistent enforcement of traffic rules, and better bike infrastructure around the park’s perimeter so commuters and delivery riders don’t have to cut through the park, according to the spokesperson.
The bloody collision on Monday comes around two weeks after a woman who was jogging was struck by an electric bike on West Drive near West 64th Street and placed into a medically induced coma, which West Side Rag was the first to report on. The woman, known as Jean, has since woken up and said her name, according to her niece Brandi Wiltse.
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We obviously have to wait for the official report before we start ascribing blame here. However, I will note that, unlike many other crosswalks in the Park, this one does not have a traffic light. Yet my (extensive) experience with the crosswalk inside the Park at 81st Street (going to the Delacorte Theater), which does have a traffic light, is that, even when the light is against them, bikers zoom right past, ignoring the fact that pedestrians have the light, and thus the right of way.
So as for the general effectiveness of speed limits, and even traffic lights, I can safely say that they are not particularly effective in many cases, and that whether it is pedestrians who don’t look both ways before crossing, or cross against the light, or bikes who ignore lights and/or speed limits, human behavior is (sadly) NOT enforceable.
No we don’t. If bikes yield to pedestrians as the law always requires then this type of accident doesn’t happen. It is the bikes fault 100%. Cue the apologists and TA. Put bikes on a very short leash in Central Park.
What a horrible crash. No evidence of it just ninety minutes later when I was cycling by. I stopped at the red light. It is at the bottom of a long hill so cyclists have a lot of speed, even the non-speedy ones. The park was very full and there were lots of joggers as well as pedestrians in and out of the crosswalk. A few bikers stopped with me and several cyclists zipped right through. I tried to read their minds as they zigzagged through the pedestrians and all I got was just “Me Me Me Me Me Me”
On my bike recently, I stopped at a red light on the Hudson River bike path (a light specifically meant for cyclists at a heavy pedestrian crossing area). As a bus was legally crossing in front of me, another cyclist slammed on his brakes but nevertheless hit me from behind, yelling “Why the f*** did you stop? You could’ve beat that bus across!”
I always make sure to cross at an uphill crossing to not get mowed over by a bike, even though I’m relatively spry, the park is a battle-dome in the after-work hours.
This is the pedestrian strategy to not get mowed down by e-bikes: only cross at the tops of hills. I do the same thing. This woman was in a cross-walk when hit, the police didn’t take a report (they “only stayed for a moment”), so there’s no evidence that this pedestrian was hit by a biker other than ER stats.
The city, Councilman Shaun Abreu, and the Park Conservancy should be reviewing when deciding whether to continue fighting e-bike regulations and laws. Instead they look at police reports which aren’t correct and say that there’s no problem here.
Too many people are being hurt or killed. E-bikes need to get out of the park, e-bikes and scooters need to be licensed and laws enforced, and police should stop e-bike violators and ticket them or send them to court when they run red lights, drive above 15mph, drive the wrong way down streets, and ride on the sidewalk.
Many or most of these e-bike/scooter violators are commuters, not delivery workers, but Uber and Lyft are lobbying the city to prevent e-bike regulations that hurt their profits. Uber and Lyft don’t care about delivery workers and they’re getting hurt in collisions also.
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘wait for the official report before ascribing blame.’
If there is no signal, pedestrians always have the right of way.
Per New York City Rules 4-04-1-a “When traffic control signals or pedestrian control signals are not in place or not in operation, any operator of a vehicle or operator of a bicycle must stop for a pedestrian crossing a roadway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Such operators of vehicles and operators of bicycles in any lane of travel must stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian in such crosswalk until such pedestrian crosses a roadway.”
In other words, the law requires any cyclist at this intersection to yield and not continue until the intersection is clear.
That’s fine except when the vehicle is so close to the pedestrian’s point of stepping into the roadway that it’s impossible to stop. If there’s a marked crossing with no traffic light, it’s still up to the pedestrian to see that there is no vehicle approaching so close as to endanger the pedestrian.
laws are only as good as the enforcement.
Unmarked crosswalks have a very specific definition. If you cross at a random place in the road, the pedestrian does not have the right of way. Now all vehicles are obligated to exercise due care and not run people over, but that is not the same thing as right of way. If you blindly step in front of a car or bike mid block, you can be sued for damages. Unmarked crosswalks exist only at intersections where there is no crosswalk drawn on the asphalt. These points don’t seem relevant here as there was a crosswalk here.
Well since the picture clearly shows a sidewalk the bike is pretty well hosed according to your definition. Go to Jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Thanks for clarifying that it is absolutely the bikes fault.
The pedestrian was run over in a cross walk—the photo of the pedestrian and biker on the ground in the cross walk evidence this. Bikers run right through crosswalks whether there’s a red light or not.
Even if a bike slows down at an empty crosswalk, a pedestrian who steps into it without looking is asking for trouble. The bike could be slowed down to 5MPH and still collide with someone who steps right in front of it. Whose fault is that?
Every cop I have ever talked to says that pedestrians have the right-of-way *always*, even if they’re doing something stupid (which happens, for sure). People *do* need to not be so focused on their phones, and be aware of their surroundings. That said, it is easier for a bike to dodge a pedestrian than for a pedestrian to jump out of the way of a bike.
the police do not actually know the law.
I’m not disagredding about the law, and I am not saying this happened in this case, but a vehicle simply cannot always stop in time to avoid a collisions. The laws of Physics say it depends on mass and speed and how hard the vehicle can break.
Which is why the concept of defensive driving applies to all vehicles not just cars. I agree that there seems to be a lot of inconsiderate behavior but slowing down before an intersection makes sense. Instead, I see racing bikes veer into the walking lane on drives. Life is too short to be in such a rush.
That’s why heavy e-bikes and e-scooters with poor brakes shouldn’t be in parks, or permitted to drive over 15mph or to run red lights, or to drive on sidewalks or to drive the wrong direction down streets. And e-bikes and e-scooters should be licensed and the police should enforce these laws instead of walking away when they see a biker that ran over a pedestrian in a crosswalk. If a car had hit this pedestrian in a cross-walk, it would be a crime, but because an e-biker ran into this pedestrian in a cross-walk the police stayed “for a moment” and didn’t even issue a ticket.
Did I miss something? Nothing in the article says the bicycle that struck this pedestrian was an e-bike.
So, the Conservancy and DOT painting “Stop For Peds” like a traffic light, also means nothing to them?
“Stop For Peds” written *on the road* is indeed ineffective. Fast moving cyclists do not have time to read or even notice those signs.
The only effective solution is raised pedestrian crossings. It was one of the options initially suggested by CP Conservatory. I understand it was not pursued because it would have interfered with citywide cycling events held in Central Park – however it is the only workable alternative. Anyone who truly cares about pedestrian safety should advocate for physical traffic calming.
Great point Beata. And there are removable pedestrian crossings, that can be taken away during biking or running events. I pass 2 every day commuting from my job in Queens.
raised ped crossings is a terrible idea and . the reality is, regardless of the law, bikes will not stop at ped crossings in the park. pedestrians should wait until there’s a break in bike traffic (there always is pretty quickly) and cross then. also the stoplights in the park were for when car traffic was allowed in the park and were just never removed after cars were prohibited from driving in the park
Your suggestion means pedestrians can’t cross the park between the hours of 9am and 9pm on Saturdays and Sundays because that’s when there are so many bikers, it’s impossible to cross anywhere except the top of hills where bikers are forced to slow down. There are three hills on the west side of Central Park where pedestrians can cross at the top of them. Go find these three hills, pedestrians, and cross at the top of them or expect to get run over!
Alternatively, we could go back to the peaceful days before e-bikes/scooters in the parks when pedestrians and peddle-bikers got along without killing each other.
It’s time to sue CitiBike, Lyft, and Uber.
Raised pedestrian crossing?! This is a park, not a highway! Made for pedestrians.
Raised pedestrian crossings? I don’t understand, would that mean pedestrians would climb steps up and over? What about seniors and disabled pedestrians?
Raised pedestrian crossings are speed bump crossings elevated to the sidewalk level. They are very convenient for disabled and senior pedestrians. They are also very effective at slowing down both motorists and bikers and widely used in most European cities.
Something like that or bumps in the road, similar to what is used to slow down traffic around schools.
We obviously have to wait for an official report from whom? The article says the police arrived but only stayed for a moment and left before the ambulance arrived. Do you think they will write an official report? Was such a report written about either of the 2 women hit by bikes a frw weeks ago?
The fact is the police don’t even count the nunber of times there is a bike or ebike vs pedestrian accident.
This is a problem. Most EVSA Members that got hit, I think it’s over 120 now, most did not get a report. They got a ride to the hospital in an ambulance, but no police report.
Which is why the “statistics” about pedestrian/bike accidents are not as reliable as statistics about pedestrian/car accidents.
This happens frequently enough that it’s hardly news despite how distressing it is. There’s almost always an ambulance somewhere in the park dealing with an injured cyclist and/or pedestrian. A dog took out a cyclist not many weeks ago. Like everything in NYC, there’s more demand for space than supply and no good way to manage it that everyone can agree on.
We have an epidemic of people not looking up from their phones and looking both ways
We have an epidemic of people everywhere not looking where they’re going. Very self-centered.
We also have an epidemic of cyclists who race through the park, utterly ignoring speed limits and lights. And ten there are those who are just selfish and ignore the rules, regs and laws.
I am in the park constantly (daily during bird migration) and 90-% of the cyclists NEVER slow down or stop for lights ~ ever! One must look for them and wait if they are coming, even if the lights are RED. It’s taking your life in your hands if you don’t.
I find the writing in this article very confusing. “It seems like the pedestrian had just stepped off the crosswalk to make her way across the drive when she was hit.” Do you mean the pedestrian “just stepped onto the crosswalk” rather than off? If she was crossing the drive, and the crosswalk spans the drive, then she would step onto the crosswalk to walk across the drive. If there’s a crosswalk there, why would she step off it?
It’s almost as if WSR rushed to publish an article about a cyclist-involved crash despite scant details, knowing it would drive engagement in the form of clicks and comments (this one included).
In the picture at the top of the article you can see lots of people standing on a pedestrian path in the park, not the roadway. I believe they mean she had stepped off this path and into the road.
A pedestrian path is not a crosswalk.
CP Conservancy: “We maintain profound concerns …” While they are sitting in their offices, profoundly concerned, they do absolutely nothing about violations of their own rules by E-vehicles and others. Anyone who feels like it rides on pedestrian paths in the park, lets a dog run unleashed, etc.
Definitely true! And some of the unleashed dogs weigh more than I do and will run right into an unsuspecting walker. I’m 81 and have been knocked down. If you say anything to the dog’s owner, they tell you to “F*** off” or “Mind your own business,” etc. My health and safety are my business. There need to be paid civilian patrols to deter this behavior. They could issue tickets. It would definitely dampen some of this behavior. But the CPC would not spend a penny for that kind of “improvement.” Safety should come before more new fences and flower beds.
They made it a speedway. They prioritized high speed and put burlap bags over the walk signals. It’s insanity!
The Central Park Conservancy is very responsible for e-bikes being in the park! They did nothing to raise objections. They helped to design this very poorly thought up loop by Sam Schwartz who was paid a lot of money for it.. There are accidents in the park from e-bikes every week and they are very serious. The recent difference is the media is finally covering it!
But the CPC came out to say that horse carriages should be banned from the park while saying nothing about e-bikes!!! There might be 3 incidents a year for horsecarriages and 3 a week for e-bikes!
In a word the behavior by the city, the police, the CPC and the Mayor is unacceptable. E-bikes which are vehicles capable of high speeds and reckless behavior MUST be banned in Central Park.
I’d like to make a correction. Sam Schwartz did not design the recent loop design. Apologies for any misunderstanding. It has been a general belief that he designed it but I’m informed he did not.
1. In this instance, the cyclist rode a traditional bike, not an e-bike. Central Park racers create a much bigger hazard for pedestrians than slow tourists on electric Citibikes.
2.. Yes, the current design is problematic but old traffic lights did not defer anyone. What will make a difference is traffic calming (i.e. raised pedestrian crossings). I agree it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
3. Two wrongs do not make it right and yes, horse carriages have no place in Central Park in 2026.
This road was safer years ago when it was used by cars. The fact that pedestrians have to worry about getting hit by regular bikes and e-bikes on sidewalks, streets AND in parks is crazy. I don’t understand how the pedestrians of NYC have lost so much respect. More and more of the city is ceded to bikers. I just want to walk. Please.
Nostalgia is doing a lot of work here. The “good old days” you’re describing included cars hitting and killing people in Central Park. Replacing that with conflicts involving bikes isn’t evidence the park became less safe, it’s evidence that the worst danger was removed. We can crack down on reckless cyclists without pretending SUVs were somehow the safer option. NB: it’s also not clear who is at fault here.
In any case, let’s not cede Central Park back to 4000 lb hunks of steel?
We’re not cracking down on bikes. Where did you see a concrete plan for that? We’re extending bike privileges.
This accident has been discussed on /NYCbike subreddit. Several eyewitnesses commented that the biker was going “very fast”. Even if the woman had unexpectedly stepped onto the drive, the biker should have slowed down way before that.
I am not a bike rider, and this is just my opinion, but I believe many bikers enjoy the freedom to move through the city quickly. With the volume of people walking, crossing or just standing it would mean stopping your bike many times during a trip, and I think that reduces the enjoyment.
Exactly. My biker friend explained that if they stopped for lights they would have to stop at every intersection because the lights are timed for cars. So there is an incentive for them a) not to stop for the light snd b) to go faster.
I’d love to know why the police came, arriving first on the scene, and then left–seemingly without doing anything. (Unfortunately, in other situations over the years here on the UWS when I’ve called the police I’ve had similar results: police not doing anything.)
Sadly this is typical behavior by the police!
I saw the accident. The biker was coming down the hill to the north of the accident very fast, and looked like he may have been too close to the sidewalk. He suddenly crashed and began to stand, but only when I walked over could I see that there was someone under him. It was hard to tell if it was a man or woman, with very dark hair. and blood coming profusely from the wound in her head. The angle of her body, with her feet pointing north, suggested that she had been watching out for bikes when she stepped off the curb, but the biker was going very fast. As there were a lot of people helping and trying get emergency services, I left. I was sitting at 81st and CPW when a Fire Dept. emergency vehicle entered. By then it must have been at least 20 minutes since she was hit, but another ER may already have come.
That south-bound hill the bicyclist was riding down, while quickly picking up speed, is one of the longest in the park, beginning at about 84th street and past 81st street. It would be the rare park cyclist who would stop short at 81st, even for a light. A pedestrian crossing at that point has to check that there is no cyclist in sight within two blocks to feel safe.
Start ticketing cyclists again. Over the speed limit? Ticket. Go through a light? Ticket. Don’t yield for pedestrians? Ticket.
I’m tired of it.
I love bikes and wish every street had a bike lane…and I agree with you. They need to follow the rules just like any other vehicle.
“Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a directive ending the NYPD’s criminal enforcement of low-level traffic offenses for e-bike riders and cyclists. The policy limits police to issuing civil summonses instead of making arrests or mandating criminal court appearances for infractions like running a red light or riding on the sidewalk“
Ticket pedestrians jay walking too …
That would only work if jaywalking was against the law. Sadly, it isn’t anymore.
Also, particular to the Central Park loop since they removed the vast majority of the traffic lights pedestrians are told to just step into the crosswalk and hope and pray that cyclists stop or swerve around them. It’s a terrible system.
Jay walking is no longer illegal
Maybe let ‘citizens’ hand out tickets.
Amen!
The cyclists are taking out squirrels and continuing on as if nothing happened leaving them injured, in pain and scared. The parks department does not have jurisdiction to help so their only hope is a Good Samaritan picking them up and taking them to a vet.
Occam’s Razor tells me that the cyclist was likely living out his Tour de France fantasies like so many of them are and was speeding so fast that he hit the woman who stepped off the curb thinking the road was clear.
Tourists, and just people nowadays to be honest, are so clueless of their surroundings and physical environment. It’s pretty easy to look both ways when crossing the street and notice a bike hurdling towards you. It’s unsafe, and unfair for cyclists, when people will just wander into their path
It’s hurtling, not hurdling. And the definition of hurtling is “to move or fall at great speeds, often with a sense of danger, force, ..It can also mean to forcefully throw, hurl, or fling something through the air.” (like a pedestrian)
Poor cyclist that the slow moving person got in their way of winning whatever fantasy bike race they were pursuing in their minds. What an absolute disgrace. You learn this in first grade – yield to pedestrians.
Interesting how you immediately blamed the pedestrian. I can just as easily say the pedestrian did look both ways, but the bike was traveling so fast that by the time she took the step into the road, she was hit.
I frankly don’t really care what is unfair to cyclists. When they start obeying rules of the road and things like red lights, maybe I will. I have yet to see it happen.
It is even more unfair for pedestrians when they have to navigate in between Central Park racers refusing to slow down (let alone stop) at pedestrian crosswalks.
I am all for more bike lanes, higher congestion pricing and better curb management. I believe investing in bike infrastructure is good for the city. However, the current situation in Central Park is not sustainable. What we need is a different design – raised pedestrian crosswalks and speed bumps. So called “rumble strips” that were supposed to slow down fast moving cyclists are not doing anything.
I appreciate raising crosswalks in CP will interfere with city wide cycling events (including Five Boro bike tour) but it is price worth paying for a much safer environment.
Can’t a raised crosswalk be made so it is removeable for events?
I’m at the park every single day with my dog, sometimes twice a day. I’ve become so scared of bikers because if their aggression and speed and 99.999% of them never stop for the walk signs. They don’t care if you’re young, elderly, have a stroller etc. They definitely need to be checked
It never ends. All two wheelers blow off this light at 80th, like all the rest. It’s at the bottom of the hill, and 25mph+ is par for the course, sadly. But, you have a Conservancy that doesn’t seem to care. We, we see a couple accidents like this every week, and we are only one org (NYCEVSA). The Conservancy decided that high speed e-bikes, e-scooters, and Lance Armstrong wannabes are the priority, while pedestrians, seniors, and the disabled are left fearing what was once an oasis. What a flipping shame!
It’s kind of dated and sophomoric to label cyclists as Lance Armstrong wannabes or those living out their cycling fantasies. One could same the same thing about runners who run for speed. Do we label them by the names of the most accomplished runners in sprints and marathons? I’m not a racing cyclist but I can appreciate those who take the sport seriously and have personal goals for training and cardio activities. We can talk about the problems associated with groups of park users moving at different speeds in the same space without the silly judgements.
Unclear from this reporting who was at fault here.
Yes a pedestrian in this crosswalk has right of way. But also if a pedestrian suddenly and peremptorily steps into the path of a moving vehicle (bicycle or otherwise) it may be impossible for even the most alert and conscientious driver to yield that right of way in time.
Like, step out in front of a cyclist in just the smallest fraction of a second, and there’s literally no safe speed at which the cyclist could be approaching. 10 mph? 5 mph? There could still be a crash & even severe injuries.
Do agree that 5pm on a nice summer day is not the time for a cyclist to be moving at speed through the park, even if at or slightly below the current enforceable 20 mph speed limit. An appropriate compromise on park usage would limit those speeds to very early morning sessions.
But the horse-drawn carriages are the REAL problem, right?
The bike lobby is in cahoots with big real estate! You’ve Got Mail, Sex and the City and Friends really attracted a lot of people who have made this city worse!
Does anyone know of an organization or website or Instagram account where average citizens can report bike (and especially bike-pedestrian) collisions and upload photos so we could get a more accurate count of how often this happens?
It would be great if some reputable journalistic organization would conduct a study of accidents for which the NYPD did not create a report. Perhaps solicit its widespread readership to submit their reports (and photos if available) to give us some idea of how many of these accidents are just not accounted for in police statistics.
WSR, a great project for a summer intern perhaps??
As often on this site, it feels like comments are mostly emanating from a bunch of old curmudgeons who have nothing else better to do than pass judgments on events we do not have the full picture on… But please keep blaming cyclists for everything, it is very helpful.
Brian,
People with children
Wow, Brian. There is supporting a group and then there is spouting nonsense. I’ve been following your comments, never is a biker in the wrong?
Karen is a pedestrian ever in the wrong? Did you read my comment? I guess not. Until we know what happened you could refrain from assigning blame…
We have nothing better to do than read the Rag and comment because we are afraid to go for a walk in the park.
There’s plenty of park to enjoy without having to cross any roadways if you’re that terrified. Crossing roadways is apparently not for everyone so a little behavior modification solves that problem. I’m certain that’s not the answer you want to hear but that might be the only solution for someone like you. I’d like to walk in certain neighborhoods, but I don’t if I deem them unsafe. Rational and logical people put limitations on their behavior often.
There are bikes on the pedestrian walkways too. That has nothing to do with this story but is an example of the lawlessness of bikes in Central Park.
That’s the mentality that is common among bikers – “ I’m young and want to go fast! Out of my way curmudgeons in your slow wheel chairs!
Not surprising since the lights are all messed up, very few red lights, blind signals still disabled, and geared for emicrobility to succeed over the peace of of NYers especially pedestrians. The NYCDOT and Conservancy and Mayor have blood, injuries and DEATH on their hands. Period.
The mayor is a member of the same cult.
“Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a directive ending the NYPD’s criminal enforcement of low-level traffic offenses for e-bike riders and cyclists. The policy limits police to issuing civil summonses instead of making arrests or mandating criminal court appearances for infractions like running a red light or riding on the sidewalk
The mayor was too busy impersonating a world leader pursuing his idealogical agenda instead of making sure the buses are running on time, the trash is collected, and other boring mayor-ing things.
Cyclists never stop at that light and get angry when you yell at them to stop.
As a community, what can we do here? What are actual steps and actions that can be taken? Who do we talk to? And in what organized way? Please – someone post some meaningful suggestions. Then we, as the amazing UWS community that we are, can take action to ensure that more people – pedestrian and cyclist alike – don’t have Monday nights like this.
Thank you for asking. Yes, the community can definitely take action, and I hope people do. Here’s what I suggest:
If bikes were registered and had license plates, existing traffic cameras could identify the reckless riders and then the laws could be enforced. There is a bill *now* in the City Council to do this: Priscilla’s Law, Int 0802-2026.
In addition, there is a specfic bill prohibiting e-vehicles from our parks; it’s 0377.
Everyone reading this can help make this happen.
Please call your City Council rep and urge them to make sure both these bills pass soon. You can locate your City Council member at https://council.nyc.gov/districts/ . You can see Priscilla’s Law itself at https://nyc.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7961488&GUID=D2FB630A-ED26-4390-B6EC-F6409CFDFCA5 . 0377 is at https://intro.nyc/0377-2026+ .
Honestly, more people need to migrate from online conversations to IRL ones and *speak truth to power* in order to get the City Council to act. The NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance (https://www.nycevsa.org/) has been pushing for this for several years. Your help is desperately needed: until enough people speak up, the City Council (and the Mayor) will assume we are all content with things as they are.
Everyone reading this can help make this happen.
That’s a good suggestion. The problem with it is that many of us on the Upper West Side don’t have a City Council member who gives a rat’s tail about pedestrians or pedestrian safety. And she seems to have a lock on the job forever and ever.
This will do nothing to prevent Monday accident. The biker was riding a regular bike, not an e-bike.
If you truly care about pedestrian safety, please advocate for traffic calming measures (speed bumps).
Look both ways before crossing.
I am planning to write letters to CP conservatory and NYC DOT advocating for traffic calming measures on Central Park Drives (raised pedestrian crossings). I do not support restrictions on e-bikes. I strongly believe the only real solution to ensure pedestrians’ safety is physical traffic calming infrastructure. I know NYC DOT traditionally shied away from aggressive speed bumps that are popular in – say – many European countries but we need more of them – both for bikes in CP and for cars on other roads.
If others do the same thing, we might have a chance.
That’s an excellent idea, maybe you could start a petition. I’m sure there are plenty of people here who would be willing to sign it. https://www.change.org/
Does anyone anywhere pay attention to those on-line petitions (other than those who sign them)? I would be happy to sign a petition urging Beata’s excellent idea of raised crosswalks if I thought that it would accomplish anything. But I doubt that it will, unfortunately.
Could you post physical or email addresses for them? I think we should start a letter writing campaign.
When was the last time ( or first time) an accident like this happened with a woman cyclist hitting a man crossing the road?
Exactly.
Before I ever went to Central Park to bike, I carefully studied the rules. When I finally went there, I didn’t know why I wasted my time because nobody is following the rules. I worry I’ll get somebody hurt because I follow the rules. For instance, when I stop for someone in the crosswalk somebody is going to slam into me or worst when I politely wave letting a pedestrian know that its ok to cross somebody else is going to fly by me and hit them. Regardless, I still follow the rules.
Thank you, Rocko.
Thank you, Rocko.
Another day, another Central Park collision. Another pedestrian or park user injured. And once again, we are expected to treat this as some unavoidable accident — just another unfortunate incident in a city that has deliberately created a transportation system based on the fantasy that everyone will simply follow the rules.
That is not how public safety works.
For years, the City, the Department of Transportation, and the powerful lobbying organizations behind the micromobility agenda have expanded access for bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, and every new category of motorized device while ignoring the most basic question: what happens when people don’t obey the rules?
Because the idea that unidentified, unregistered, uninsured riders will always operate responsibly is absurd. It is no different from saying that unlicensed car drivers will always drive safely. We know that is not true. That is why automobiles have registration, insurance, plates, licensing, and consequences for dangerous behavior.
But when it comes to e-bikes and other motorized micromobility, the City has created an anything-goes environment where victims are left injured, frightened, and often without any meaningful path to accountability or compensation.
And where is the outrage from the same officials and advocacy groups who constantly tell us that every life matters? Where is the urgency when a pedestrian is struck? When an elderly person is afraid to walk? When a disabled New Yorker cannot safely navigate public space? When families using Central Park have to constantly look over their shoulder?
This is not about being anti-bike. This is about being pro-safety and pro-accountability.
Then who will maintain the park???
I stopped donating two years ago.
They see bikes as worthy of recreation and the e-bikes giving “a little boost” for all!
The answer is speed bumps every 100 feet.
The Centeal Park precint posts stats every week on this webpage.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/central-park-precinct.page
We can all look next week to see if the number of bike accidents increases by the numbers we have heard of.
They aren’t having a community meeting until the 2nd Wed of September at 7pm. Anyone who is concerned that the park less safe since the redesign should show up.
When will the madness end? Answer is new safety rules? Get real. Rules don’t matter if no one will enforce them. Not sure if this was an e-bike, but best description of e-bikes I’ve read is simply: That’s a motorcycle with pedals attached for legal camouflage. Do better NYC.
Raised crosswalks adjusted to a max speed a bike can go over them.
request through 311, maybe if a few thousand people request it, it will get into their radar
The city needs to stop pitting cyclists against pedestrians. We need clearer crossing signals, clearer rules of the road, elevated pedestrian crossovers in some spots (at the top and bottom of hills—if you know how to ride a bike, you know why), enforcement of NO e-vehicles in the park (not even pedal-assist Citibikes), and enforcement of no bikes off designated routes. Nothing is being enforced right now, so it’s become a dangerous free-for-all. Finally, we need to call out pedestrians who step in front of bicycles with angry faces, challenging riders to stop. I get your frustration, but sometimes the reality of the physical world makes it so a cyclist cannot stop in time to avoid a collision. It can be harder to stop a bike than a car. You wouldn’t step in front of a speeding car to make a point, right? Cycling need not be demonized. It’s a great form of exercise and a more earth friendly mode of getting around and seeing the city. Why do we make this so hard for everyone?
I completely agree that the city should enforce the existing laws. I also think they need to reconsider some them, and get rid of a few. Our streets and our parks have become much more perilous places due to the omnipresence of bicycles of all kinds. Pedestrians often feel vulnerable and unsafe. Our parks should be a refuge, not a speedway. The idea that we should be understanding of the fact a cyclist in a park could be going so fast that they can’t avoid a collision doesn’t make sense to me. It sounds like an issue applicable to the Tour de France, not a shared green space. A person who walks slowly, an unattended child, a person with vision issues should all be able to go to our parks and feel comfortable.
There isn’t room for everyone in Central Park. Get rid of anything on wheels. Pedestrians ONLY. Or, at the very least, raised pedestrian crossings as mentioned by others. (The horse drawn carriages are the LEAST of it.)
I can’t go along with getting rid of anything on wheels. Where would a 5 year old native NYer learn to ride a bike?
If there are more stringent regulations on bikes, it will be argued that they will “disproportionately” fall upon:
1. people of color and immigrants:
2. people employed by DoorDash and other companies that use labor of bike riders.
I contend that 1. is a red herring. The operative issue is 2. People who want to push for safety from e-vehicles have to oppose deep-pocketed interests.
This isn’t about e-bikes, and it isn’t about deliveristas. Neither was involved in the accident reported here.
This is about pedal-powered bicycles on park roads.
This is obviously an epidemic of very bad accidents. It’s not an issue of more traffic lights (although signage would help: “Be Aware of Bikers, Look Both Ways Before Crossing At All Times”. The rules should be no electric or motorized vehicles of any kind, and no biking while “clipped in”. These simple rules should apply to both Central Park and Riverside Park. If these were the rules, and they were enforced with tickets and even confiscations for repeat offenders, the problem would be cut by 90%.
I was riding my scooter in the park last week and came upon a tourist who had fallen off her bike and was laying on the ground with a huge gash in her head bleeding with her husband and many locals trying to help in the same exact spot. No one wears a helmet! People complain about how fast bikers go down that section but I see lots of tourists on rental bikes with no helmet zig zag thru the park like they are back home on a dead end street.
A neighbor was grazed by a tourist on Citibike – luckily not seriously hurt.
The tourist said she had never been to NYC before.
Incredibly the City/City DOT has been messaging to encourage tourists to bicycle!
Not messaging to encourage tourists to walk and use MTA bus and subway!
Why is no one monitoring the lawlessness of the delivery bikes.? More & more people( including myself) have been hit by the bikes
Stronger enforcement? I’ll settle for any enforcement at all. There is none right now and the bikers run riot.
Time to start (re)hammering the old “look both ways before you cross the street” expression into people’s heads. I know I am often guilty of being aloof.
It’s very distressing navigating the streets and crosswalks in nyc. Not only in the Parks, but everywhere. NYC is a walking, pedestrian city. Bike riders and electric bikes mostly do not stop for red lights. Many times they ride in opposite directions of the Avenues, putting everyone’s life in jeopardy as they speed through lights and ignore traffic rules. Cameras record everyone’s movement. The bike riders who deliberately flaut the traffic safety laws should be identified and held responsible. A hefty monetary fine will certainly discourage serial offenders.
I’m a cyclist who wants us all to share the park safely.
I stop or slow down when I see a pedestrian trying to cross. With a wave, I let them know I’ve seen them. I stop at red lights when there are pedestrians in or about to enter the crosswalk.
I understand the desire to ride fast. I also understand that we must all share the park safely. It would not hurt the cyclists to stop and then use their own power to get back up to speed. Practice your track stands if you’re such a cool bike rider.
I recommend that pedestrians be very careful and alert when crossing where there is no crosswalk. Sadly, most of them are not. They are often looking at their phones or just plain oblivious to the runners and bikers.
Cyclists are a menace to pedestrians.
Not a bad idea to have an ambulance positioned in or just beside the Park.
As the entire world of PEDESTRIANS keep reiterating, Evehicles just don’t belong in the park. Anywhere. We consign other motorized transports to the transverses and that is where these motorized vehicles belong.
Spoken as a victim.
And the cops who drove off didn’t report it. Because they almost NEVER do!
This was not a motorized e-bike.
It seems many of you here are similarly frustrated by the lawlessness of bikers. Certainly more than Trans Alt and Streetopia would have us believe. Fight back! Write to Gail Brewer, wrote to the mayor’s office. Ignoring the problems, exactly what Trans Alt is expecting of us. Join the fight against the by directional bike lane on W. 72nd St. Communicate with Coalition W72. @ no72ndstreetbikelane@gmail.com to get some thoughts on how to support our pedestrians
There’s so much going on in these areas near West Drive, especially in the summer, with the theater, the great lawn, Turtle pond, picnics, singers performing, Etc. The speed at which the bicycles zoom down the drive is frankly very scary to pedestrians. I recall that there is a lights or do not walk sign at around 80th Street, but when I’m there it often seems like bikes are going too fast in order to stop on time. I think biking on this road during spring and summer should be limited.
The number of accidents that I have seen over the past year has gone up dramatically. I have also seen more e-bikes and scooters than ever before. It is as if the CPC has turned the drive into a speedway for e-bikes. The reason for taking out the traffic lights is beyond me. Everyone I have spoken to is on the same page. No one knows what to do. Perhaps a rethinking of this decision is in order. Dogs off the leash are the worst. It has gotten to the point where I will say if I hit your dog but remain standing, I am leaving. If I go down, I am suing.
Pedestrians also have to have some responsibility here as well. How many times have you seen a pedestrian walking in the bike lanes? Cyclists rightfully deserve a ticket for biking in a pedestrian path. Same should go for pedestrians. I hit a pedestrian who had crossed an entrance ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge, went over a fence and through a bush and then stepped out infront of me. I got hurt, miraculously she did not.
I think people should just think!! You’re crossing a street….look both ways even if you have the right of way. If you’re riding a bike be aware of everything around you, especially at cross walks.
And by the time you’ve looked both ways, some Tour de France wannabe is upon you. Saw a gentleman who appeared to have Parkinson’s Disease (small halting steps, cane) trying valiantly to cross West Road, looking both ways and not feeling certain that he’d make it across in time to avoid the multiple bikers barreling toward him. He eventually gave up. Pedestrian caution is a fine and necessary thing but it doesn’t help when the guys with wheels don’t give a damn.
Who is the park for, anyhow?
This is happening way too often. As an elderly person I used to love to spend time in Central Park. I’m there every single day for walks. But since I was seriously hit by a speeding bike this April, on a pedestrian cross walk, I’m scared . I’ve had several close calls since, and I’m always very careful looking both ways several times before crossing the drive. It is completely out of control.
There are 120 victims of e-bikes in the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance organization. We have been working for sanity and safety for all New Yorkers from the danger of e-bikes. Please join us: nycevsa.org
Stay safe!
WHEN IS THE MAYOR GOING TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS ON GOING DISASTER THAT HAPPENS IN THE PARK ON A DAILY BASIS. PEDAL BIKES SHOULD ONLY BE ALLOWED IN THE PARK. E-BIKES AND ANY MOTORIZED BIKE CAN GO AROUND THE PARK….ABSOLUTELY NOT THROUGH IT. THE RULES ARE NOT OBEYED AND THEIR IS NO ENFORCEMENT. THE PARK HAS BEEN A SANCTUARY FOR OVE 100 YEARS AND NOW IT IS JUST A ANOTHER DANGER ZONE IN NYC. THE MAYOR MUST ACT NOW!
This accident did not involve an e-bike. According to this account, it was a pedal bike.
He’s not going to. In fact he has appointed all members of a commission called COGE to streamline the construction of all bike lanes and pretty much eliminate the voices of the community, the NYFD, and the NYPD. This will be presented in a referendum in November which the Mayor will sell as a streamlining. What it is is an anti-democratic move to quiet your voice as you ask for things like safety and regulation before ruining our streetscape, Please be aware. https://gothamist.com/news/mamdani-looks-to-ask-voters-if-nyc-should-speed-up-construction-of-bus-and-bike-lanes
Interesting that no report was filed by FD or NYPD. This is how they keep the statistics low. No report unless someone is “killed or maimed”. If it were a car, however, they would report even a scratch on the bumper.
The Conservancy most likely contributed to this unfortunate event’s occurrence, by eliminating the traffic light that previously controlled this area and, more significantly, by refusing all efforts at enforcement of speed limits and other traffic laws where bikes are involved.
Can someone please reach out to Gale Brewer and Linda Rosenthal for a response. This is the 3rd serious accident reported in the past couple weeks including a young mom in a coma. Enough is enough. Both Our west side representatives must address. Enough is enough. There is a serious danger to everyone and no one wants to address e bike safety and watching hundreds of Citi Bike drivers blowing through the light at west 72nd and CPW. And how can anyone allow a bike lane on west 72nd street. The city refuses to enforce the law now how will the city ever enforce moving forward. What the city is enforcing on West 72nd is using dozens of MTA agents at tax payers dollar to enforce riders on the cross town bus. 6 agents at a time. Why can’t those agents be standing at every corner for a week or two and enforcing the e bike and cyclist and holding them accountable. The city has no problem, putting cameras everywhere holding cars liable. Wouldn’t that save more lives than worrying about catching one fare evader. Enough is enough
Linda Rosenthal is a member of the State Assembly, which has no jurisdiction over traffic in a New York City park. That’s a city matter.
And Gayle Brewer doesn’t care about pedestrians.
I wonder why no one is suggesting contacting Police Commissioner Tisch? She really seems to be a sensible City administrator. Why are her officers not enforcing the rules of the road on Central and Riverside Parks? Why are her officers not reporting or recording dangerous accidents like the one at issue here?
Let’s have a race! Even when it’s against their own best time. Pedestrians are so old school! Sorry folks but strolling is hazardous to your health but who cares the priests of the bikes must be served.
I’ve seen them; you’ve see them. If you object, you get the finger or worse.
Oh, I forgot, they are doing god’s work!