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Early Addition
The Critical Mass "problem" for the Bloomberg administration is getting more and more critical. Each week it seems like the NYPD brass and Bloomie's folks have added more and more headaches for the city's bicyclists. In the middle of an energy crisis no less. For instance, last nights Critical Mass ride led to 27 tickets - better than arrests, right? And this on top of increased anti-cyclist ticketing on the city's bridges not to mention the apalling "clarification" of rules governing group events the NYPD is trying to push through (the hearing on them is August 23rd - at the same time as the city hearing on the Atlantic Yards project).
Our favorite source for CM recaps, Bike Blog, hasn't got one up yet though we expect it to show up soon enough. In the meantime, were you there? Put your stories in the comments!
And speaking of Bike Blog, do you remember back in May when we told you about the female Critical Mass rider who was purposely doored by an NYPD officer which led to a broken collar bone? Yeah, here's more on that, plus photo.
July 28th Critical Mass NYC by seth_holladay via Contribute.
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I really like your posts but your use of the word 'then' drives me nuts.
"better then arrests, right?"
it should read
"better than arrests, right?"
Use 'then' when you are talking about something that happened next and 'than' when you are making a comparison.
Thanks for the critical mass updates. They are great.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/patientzero/200705432/in/pool-criticalmass/
someone took this photo of me getting a ticket last night. no, not the guy in the underwear, furthest to the right.
Vanessa, thanks, should be fixed now.
I'd blame the constant errors on my public education, but that seems a little easy, eh? In the meantime, I'll keep trying to check my grammer closer and please do point out any other errors that drive you guano.
Damn cyclists are just as bad as damn motorists, except the cyclists think that their merde doesn't smell.
Are you sick of cyclists on sidewalks, on the wrong way on one-way streets, running red lights and stop signs, acting aggressively when they are criticized and then complaining about motorists and the police?
Ticket them as often as motorists get ticketed.
Hit the bikers where it hurts! Instead of wasting my tax dollars on arresting them, ticket them!! Get rid of those scumbags that ignores traffic lights and mow down pedestrians.
Please...maybe cops should stop wasting their f'ing time ticketing me and other environmentally conscious, politically informed, and physically fit bikers and work on some real problems...I hear a little girl just got raped and killed...ticket that scumbag!
I'll keep trying to check my grammer closer...
Please tell me you were trying to be funny here... It should be "I'll keep trying to check my grammar more closely..."
Yes, I am a grammar geek.
Yes. I was trying/failing to be funny. Have to keep myself entertained somehow...
Typical self-righteous, snobby, biker attitude----"env con, pol informed, fit" blah blah. I bet your crap smells like roses too?
Im glad you got a ticket jerk off. See you next month when I jam a stick through your spokes....
uhm...yeah...sure garth...I'm sure you were trying to be funny.
uhm...yeah...sure garth...I'm sure you were trying to be funny.
Garth, you mean getting your grammar corrected isn't entertaining enough?! Goodtimes!
And I is all for biking, sure, but the attitude about traffic laws, come on, enough already. People likes to walk and not get run over.
I was there last night, my first CM in NY (haven't lived here for several years). The police activity was among the most egregious I've seen including cops on mopeds pulling cyclists off moving bicycles and throwing them to the ground without any prior warning or commands.
The sad part is, their tactics are successful at breaking up the ride. It has nothing to do with enforcement of the law, they looked for who were leaders or outspoken in the crowd and targetted them, regardless of a real offense or not.
The new regs are outrageous, 35 people walking along a sidewalk need a permit, is every school trip and day camp going to be permitted? The regs are clearly written with the intent to selectively enforce them against critical mass. Besides the obvious free speech issues, its an obvious breakdown in seperation of powers, the cops got beat in the courts so they're trying to re-write the laws...
Folks should really come out to a CM if they haven't, even without a bike, you'll see cops arrest several folks within blocks of union square. And ask your city councilor why they're letting the cops take over legislative perogatives.
The people behind Sep 11 hate our freedoms and this is exactly the kind of thing they like to see happen.
Yoohoo:
You mean Osama bin Laden rides his bicycle recklessly like NY bicyclists?
so... did they ticket the chick in the thong?
As always, a bike thread brings out the uneducated, ignorant trolls. Why don't y'all take a moment to read the other threads before spewing your hate?
NY Ped:
you'd think so, given how much attention we get.
Most bikers watch out for others. There are plenty of belligerent pedestrians--note the comments above--including those who would injure bikers by sticking spokes in their wheels (again, see above). So, BikersBlow, do you sharpen your stick first, then kill or at least maim the biker?
Yeah, I thought so.
...maybe some pedestrians should be arrested.
Bikes travelling at speed have momentum which injures people. (Remember Physics 101: Force = Mass X Acceleration)
A speeding bike can maim and injure. A walking pedesrian cannot.
When cyclists obey the traffic rules, they will garner the respect they want. Otherwise, you (or at least most of the cyclists) get these angry responses.
Cyclists complain about motorists, but most behave the same way towards pedestrians that motorists do.
I retract that. Motorists are actually more repsectful, I hate to say.
I'm with NY Pedestrian on this one. I also wish they would focus on giving tickets to unemployed and black people. I always feel uncomfortable around them.
Let's be honest everyone.
Do we stop using subways because SOME people push and shove? No.
Do we ban automobiles because some people are bad drivers, killing or severely injuring several hundred people if not thousands? No.
Do we ban walking because pedestrians jaywalk, cross against the red, too busy talking on their cell or zoned out on an iPod? No.
So, should we indiscriminately harass all cyclists beause some run red lights, ride the wrong way or like to ride together one Friday a month? No
It's all about a balance and enforcing laws in the manner that best serves the public good and respects individual rights.
i can't tell you how many times i have had a pedestrian walk right out in front of me when i have the right of way. sure it hurts the pedestrian to be hit, but it doesn't exactly feel good to be thrown off your bike at 20 mph into traffic.
Hey NY Pedestrian: When pedestrians obey the traffic rules and stop jaywalking, crossing against the light and otherwise endangering both their lives and that of cyclists, they will garner the respect they want. Otherwise, you (or at least most of the pedestrians) get these angry responses from cyclists merely trying to their destinations.
See what I did there? Like I said before, your ignorant repsonses can only be met with: look outside your narrow frame of reference, big guy.
NY Pedestrian NEVER jaywalked or crossed against the light.
Right guys, notice that Critical Mass was NOT a problem prior to the RNC? I think the Mayor has a Bike seat stuck where the Sun Don't Shine...
drama queens on bikes
"A speeding bike can maim and injure. A walking pedesrian cannot."
I call bullshit. A walking ped who pops out from between cars without looking can send me under the wheels of trucks.
Also, bike ped crashes are not as common as you think. Maybe you should focus more on the 200-300 times a year a car kills a ped instead of fussing with cyclists.
No one is talking about banning bikes. I was saying that you should obey the laws and stop whining if you get ticketed for not obeying the laws.
If cars block traffic and go up the wrong way on a one-way street, they get ticketed.
If pedestrians jaywalk, they can get injured or ticketed.
If pedestrians, en masse, (masse to be determined by the permit and currently the Courts) need a permit to march or demonstrate ( and I have obtained more than my share of demonstration permits, thank you), then cyclists should do the same.
You guys want special treatment.
You want cars to obey the law, but you don't.
Large groups of pedestrians need a permit, but cyclists seem to think they are exempt.
And to those cyclists who berate errant pedestrians, I bet you are just as inconsiderate as a pedestrian as you are a cyclist.
NY Pedestrian:And to those cyclists who berate errant pedestrians, I bet you are just as inconsiderate as a pedestrian as you are a cyclist.
I cannot speak for my fellow cyclists, but when I am a pedestrian I am always super-careful and considerate of cyclists when they have the right-of-way.
Thanks for writing about Critical Mass - The massive NYPD ticketing needs more attention!!! The NYPD ticketing of bike riders at Critical Mass (and all the time now) is more about Bloomberg's goal to disempower citizens and criminalize people who fight for for their safety and rights than it is about traffic. Too often this issue is portrayed as crazy bikers verse a mayor who loves "efficiency" - The massive ticketing that took place Friday night is disturbing and illustrative of the current NYC adminstration's efforts to silence its citizens and stop them from demanding accountability from their elected officials.
Why should people have to pay into either owning a car or the public transportation system to transport themselves safely?
Why does Bloomberg think that cars are more entitled than pedestrians?
Why is NYC so behind other major cities (Sydney, Barcelona, Amsterdam) that have made decreasing pollution and increasing people's ability to bike priorities of traffic and urban planning?