Central Park Dilemma: Who Has Right of Way?

NYCdog.org (New York Council of Dog Owner Groups) worked hard and long to clarify and codify the recently adopted off-leash policy in city parks.

The adjustment period is a bit confusing due to a lack of signage, brochures, and other information sources that clearly state the rules, areas where dogs may be allowed off-leash, and other dog related policies. We are working with Parks to correct this, but with 1,700 parks it may take a while.

As to Central Park, here are the rules: Dogs are not allowed off-leash on roadways. Runners should use a leash when accompanied by their dogs. This is more than a safety issue; it is common courtesy to others. As a former distance runner and a current dog owner, I appreciate all arguments on both sides of the issue, but with more than 22 MILLION visitors a year to Central Park, this simple policy is wise to follow.

Meanwhile, bicyclists should also respect the rules by not riding on pathways and other areas not meant for wheeled vehicles.

Racers typically use the park in early morning and night when dogs are allowed off-leash. Mutual respect with insure the safety of all. By the way, racers are among the smartest users of the park, yet (as with a few dog owners) all it takes are a few to create ill will among the many.

Central Park is the most used urban park in the nation. It is 835 acres. Over 200 acres are fields but almost every one of those fields are permanently off limits to dogs whether on or off leash. More than 100 acres are water bodies also off limits to dogs. More than 150 acres are natural areas where dogs are not allowed off leash. Playgrounds, fountains, restaurants, etc. comprise more than 50 additional acres (rough estimate). The roadways total over 45 acres of the park.

This leaves small areas available to dog owners to share with other park users.

Ideally, cars will be permanently banned from the park, freeing up the roadway for use by bicyclists, rollerbladers and runners.

The NYTimes has been pathetic in its coverage (or non-coverage as it were) of the off-leash issue. Most of their dog related stories have been antagonistic towards the owners of the 1.4 million dogs owned in NYC.

The story related to this blog failed to distinguish between bicyclists illegally using paths and those who properly use the bike lanes. It also failed to note whether dog owners wisely kept their dogs leashed while on the roadways.

Finally, crossing the roads in CP is always risky. Bicyclists often do not obey traffic lights. Runners do not yield to those crossing legally. Parents foolishly allow small children to cross unchecked. And dog owners often forget to leash their dogs or to walk immediately next to their dogs.

It comes down to respect. Let us respect one another so that we can all responsibly share our limited parklands.

Attacking one another accomplishes nothing. Vitriol only cements people into different camps.

NYCdog and Central Park Paws will be in touch with the New York Road Runners Club and the Road Club Association to see how our groups can work together to educate our members and to resolve problems.

For more information, please contact us at Info@NYCdog.org.

....and kites.

They should ban walkers, runners, dogs, bikers, tourists, cats, cars, ice cream trucks, hot dog stands, fun, air, grass, rocks and the general human from Central Park. We should let is grow over with weeds so people stop commenting so much on a story that came out a week ago.

Regardless of how you choose to move around the parks drive (ie bike, rollerblades, feet) or in what company (ie strollers, dogs) the real problem lies in the fact that half of everyone in the *road* has their head up their ass, not paying attention to traffic.

If you applied this situation to vehicular traffic, the fault would lie in the jerk not paying attention.

ATTENTION! Swerving kids/adults on bikes, seemingly drunk parents weaving your tandem strollers, drunk marathoners: step off the road until you can commit to being part of park traffic.

er... many others.

I'm one of those lycra-clad fools so many bitch and moan about. I commute over 4000 miles annually through Manhattan. tell me i don't know how to handle myself on the road, hmm?

wanna-be racers? where the hell do you think people start their racing careers? these amateur racers know how to get through the park more safely and responsibly than few others.

My wife was bitten by a dog that was off it's leash and had to have a painfull series of rabies shots. This was before the parks department allowed dogs of their leashes in the parks at certain times. There is no question that dogs are the biggest threat to New Yorkers. Your poll is biased by the way it lists cyclists first in a non alphabetical order. I think you should apologize to cyclists and redo the poll.

Sincerely, David

no, riding in the park doesn't develop bike handling skills. racing with 100 other cyclists on a narrow course and learning how to finish with all of your bones intact does.

many racers are also commuters. you won't see them in their uniforms riding to work, but that doesn't mean they can't ride in traffic.

The "on your left" concept is not bogus - that's a surprisingly ignorant comment from a cyclist - it's hard to believe you're telling the truth about your background.

Saying "on your left" is not to make someone move over (no one ever has for me) - it's simply to announce my presence. The reality is, if you're forced to pass another cyclist or a runner closely (because other obstacles block you from passing wider), and their back is to you so that they don't know you're coming, you just want to make sure they don't unexpectedly swerve or turn just as you're passing. I usually slow down also, but slowing down is not enough.

I've had these unexpected close calls more than once, when I was a potential victim as well as a perpetrator, and I've heard of pretty severe accidents happening this way.

For the commenter saying that cyclists should just "give up" the Brooklyn Bridge because there are fewer pedestrians and instead take the Manhattan Br.. not every one is going where you are. Many cyclist using the Brooklyn Bridge are coming from or travelling to lower Manhattan (Wall St, World Trade Center, or Battery Park area); the Manhattan Bridge is ridiculously out-of-the-way.

The elite cyclists (and certainly not everyone you see in Spandex is one) really do know how to handle a bike. They train to ride in very tight formations with little margin of error, and many of them ride hundreds miles a week, with 60-150 miles trained OUTSIDE the City. Just because you only see them in Central or Prospect Park doesn't mean those are the only place they go.

I've ridden bike a long time -- and even raced with Lance Armstrong in the early 1990s -- and the "on your left" thing being for safety is just bogus. If you're out on the street or in a park riding and you're passing someone so close you have to warn them, it means you're going to fast, or are too close, or both.

#43 -- do you appreciate cars giving you a friendly beep just to make sure you don't wander in front of them when you're out walking or riding a bike? The concept is baloney.

"The reality is they THINK they have the best bike handling skills and they THINK because they own a $1000+ bike that they are in someway superior to the rest of us, but in fact they are nothing more than self-obcessed dweebs."

I tend to agree with Reality Czech here ... I very rarely see these guys riding in the *street*, which means their bike handling skills couldn't be all that well developed. Going around and around the park in what is basically a straight line does little to develop your bike handling skills.

I am a cyclist. We can all agree some cyclists are jerks, since they are people and many people are jerks. However demonizing them doesn't help. Most cyclists are perfectly nice. In the defense of some "jerks," cyclists get disrespected (or dangerously ignored) constantly in ways others would find hard to imagine unless they themselves regularly took to the road on two wheels, so nerves get frayed.

When a cyclist blows a whistle or says "on your left," he/she is actually doing you a service by letting you know that they're coming. Cyclist recognize that people listen for cars but don't look out for cyclists, so someone walking in front of them often isn't aware of them. If that person unexpectedly turns the other way or changes direction and then BAM! both get hurt.

As to the maneuverability and right-of-way, I agree that cyclists should carve a path to safely go around pedestrians and other obstacles in the road, and in fact that is how they usually make they way through the road. However, please recognize that a cyclist cannot easily stop dead in his/her tracks, so intentionally walking straight in front of a cyclist, or into the road without looking, especially when you have the whole entire park and cyclists only have the road, is more annoying to cyclists than you might realize. It's not people on the road, but people who act as if the cyclist is invisible or should come to a dead stop for them, that is so bothersome. Note that this is not every pedestrian, which re-inforces the idea that it IS possible to use the park as a pedestrian AND have a clue.

One more thing:

To those of you deriding bicyclists for warning you with "on your left", or "on your right" while they approach from behind - we are doing this for your safety, you can't see us and we want to make sure you don't accidentally wander (left, or right) into the space where we are about to pass you.

As to those of you denigrating the "lance armstrong" types who are cycling in the park: GROW THE FUCK UP. Yes, they look like huge dorks in their dayglo outfits and spandex, but they are just as entitled to use the park as you are. Deal with it.

"before you denigrate the "lance wannabees" aka racers, you should realize that the racers have the best bike handling skills and are rarely the ones involved in accidents."

No, I doubt their bike handling skills are anywhere close to a bike messengers.

And they rarely get into accidents because they are rarely riding in the streets with traffic and pedestrians!

The reality is they THINK they have the best bike handling skills and they THINK because they own a $1000+ bike that they are in someway superior to the rest of us, but in fact they are nothing more than self-obcessed dweebs.

Last night I was riding down the Brooklyn Bridge and some homeboys (who have no respeck for da law) just wouldn't move from the bike path. I was ringing the bell, yelling but nope, they ain't moving for any white man.

I slowed up and said, "Um, this is a bike lane" and they went "OOOH" and I went "OHH that is why you is dumb ass..."

I use the park reguarly as a cyclist, rollerblader and pedestrian (though not a pet-weilding one). The responsibility of sharing the road should be shared by cyclists, skaters, tourists and resident pedestrians alike.

Cyclers are moving faster than anyone, and they cannot stop as readily as pedestrians, and cannot maneuver tightly while at speed. They have the greatest potential to enflict damage, so they have the greatest responsibility to take care and prevent accidents. It is your responsibility as a cyclist to make sure that you are looking for the widest available lane in the crowd, and to keep an eye out for erratically moving children. When I'm cycling I worry more about the people with their back to me, than the people who can see me with their eyes. As a cyclist I try to keep a particularly wide berth from rollerbladers, particularly those who are more recreational than exercise-oriented bladers ... the recreational ones are the ones who seem to make sudden swooping turns with no warning whatsoever. Whenever I'm passing through a tight corridor, I'll let people know I'm coming with an "on your left" or "on your right".

Rollerbladers are pretty innocuous, (most) aren't moving too fast. I'd say all rollerbladers have to do is make sure they aren't going so fast that they can't stop or maneuver easily through a crowd, and that you shouldn't make sudden swoopint turns left or right without looking over your shoulder for cyclists (or risk pretty severe injury).

Pedestrians, are the least innocuous of all but they still have three very minor responsibilities (which they frequently fail to uphold):

1. Don't go out of your way to step in the path of cyclists and rollerbladers. This should be common sense but for some reason a lot of people do it anyway. Playing chicken with a bike moving 30 mph is an intenslely stupid idea people.

2. STAY OUT OF THE FUCKING BIKE PATH. I have ZERO sympathy for jackasses walking in the bike path, if you get hurt, you've got it coming. I will purposefully ride very, very close to you at speed. I don't ride on the sidewalk, so stay out of my bike path. You wouldn't elect to walk around in the middle of the street with motorized traffic, why the hell are you walking around in the bike path.

3. Keep your pet within one foot of yourself. This is a no-brainer people.

I'm blown away by the number of people that seem to be so irritated by the relatively small number of serious cyclists in Central and Prospect Parks. These cyclists have chosen this as their hobby, and I applaud them with training with so much vigor. In Prospect Park, they use the main roadway, which is maybe 5% of the entire land in the park? It's not like they're flying across he soccer fields or Nethermeade...

In Central Park, I'm sure it's the same. I agree that they can be aggressive, but seriously people, get over it - it's a pretty small problem. Look both ways, and you'll be fine. Or, jog on one of the dozens of other paths.

#31/ MonsterMash: SING IT TO ME, BROTHER! I'm consistently aggravated by the entitled, aggressive, type-A cyclists in Prospect Park. I try to console myself with the knowledge that those tiny bike seats are squishing their balls and decreasing their sperm count in an act of self-styled Darwinian retribution.

And to Monster Mash (#31) chill out. The parks weren't "made" for roller bladers or cars either.

Also, there are officially sanctioned races in both parks, and they are the only place in the city for serious athletes to train. So deal with it.

before you denigrate the "lance wannabees" aka racers, you should realize that the racers have the best bike handling skills and are rarely the ones involved in accidents. Also racers tend to be a little more respect and yell less than other non racers who might look the part. But it's the rec cyclists who rarely ride their bike who are most likely to hit someone.

I think the real culprits are those who just aren't aware of their bodies in space and their surroundings, be they in a car, on foot, pedaling, on skis.

As a cyclists, obstructions in the park are usually a non-issue since there's enough space for everyone to enjoy it in their own way. However, if you are a pedestrian and standing in the BIKE LANE waiting for the light to change, refusing to move even though you see me coming and must surely see the cab next to me blocking my ability to maneuver, I'm gonna yell expletives at you. You have your space, let me have mine.

As a runner, my favorite hostile cyclist I've dealt with was the one who flew through a red light on the West Side Highway path and had to pass me in the crosswalk. He swung around looking for a fight, wouldn't accept that the red light shaped like a bicycle was for him and told me that the "yeild to pedestrians" signs he blew through didn't apply because he wasn't a pedestrian and threatened to kill me the next time.

Happy cycling!

Monster -

The reason people say "on your left" or "on your right" is for your safety and their safety. I pass at reasonable speeds and with enough room, but I always let the person know just in case. It's a park. People will use it. Maybe you don't like what they wear? Maybe some pass too close too fast? Take it out on them.

That said, you can't say people shouldn't use a park because of what they wear or what kind of bike they ride, so deal.

#30, that is exactly what I was getting at. You can't bike across the BkBridge and be mad that is covered in tourists. Its like walking through Times Square and being all pissy that there are tourists all over the place. Its the nature of the beast, especially in nice weather. The guys who ride across the BkBridge at 30mph with their little whistles just seem to get a kick out of yelling at tourists and other pedestrians.

I commute by bicycle and agree that some cyclists can be real jerks. I also cannot stand the "Lance" types who will zip around the Central Park Drive at breakneck speed while casual cyclists try to enjoy a weekend day often with small children just learning to ride their bikes.

It's just so excruciating when "Lance" flies up on you and yells "On your left!" or whatever, like you're supposed to clear out just because they can't get enough aggression out at the office. It feels like a friggin' mortar is coming in.

These people should get a clue. Central and Prospect Parks were not made for your ridiculously expensive carbon fiber machines and sickeningly day-glo spandex. Take it to the 'burbs.

Let some place in this city have some peace.

I bike about 250 miles a week + I commute by bike. I live in Brooklyn and work in SOHO. All I can say about the Brooklyn bridge is: BIkers, give it up to the peds! Use the fucking Manhattan bridge for crissakes, no one is on that one. And for all of you out there reading this, all of us Lance wannabes use the Manhattan bridge, the BK br. sucks because it's so bumpy and full of idiot peds.

I don't understand why the cyclists are angry. First of all, This is your chance to seriously injure humans and dogs with a good excuse to say it's their fault, why fight about it? I upgraded my bike to a huge steel bike with huge rim tires and a heavy duty basket in front of it. Whenever I see people or dogs on the path and they are asking for it I brace myself and run right into them. It doesn't really hurt me as much as it hurts them and it's a whole lot of fun.

I have been riding bikes around this city for well over 40 years and it seems that every year when the weather gets warmer this argument ensues.

First: I think that if the paths were marked and there were signs stipulating the recreational lane rules, that might help.

I agree with poster #12 that stay to the right is the way to go but most pedestrians, stollercizers, and pets do not understand the basic rudimentary nugget of wisdom that you are trying to impart as you weave around and try not to bump into or run over.

I also thing that bike riders should be registered and

As is the rule on the river, so it should be on land. the vehicle of least maneuverability has right of way. Therefore, a cyclist must give right of way to runners, runners to walkers, walkers just get out of the way. Whether in the park on just walking down the street, don't let your dogs leash span the sidewalk as you talk on the phone and think how cute your dog is sniffing that bag of garbage. Keep the leash under control... On my bike, I will cut it close to scare you if you approach my lane. I have knocked cameras out of tourists hands and felt fine about it.

I agree tim n. The bridge bike paths are bike paths, not sidewalks. While I always try to keep an eye out of pedestrians - they should do the same, and share the path.

Just a few days ago I had some pedestrians start cursing at me for saying 'excuse me' because they were walking down the center of the bike path. I don't think it's just cyclists who are the assholes.

Goya51... I would agree with you, except that half of the BBridge walkway is a bike lane, as in bikes, not people. They have their half, the bikes have their half. Trust me, it's not just the Tour de France crowd that has to learn "Welcome to New York, get the f*** out of my lane!" in six different languages. Reality Czech pretty much has it right.

The difference between a walker being a jerk and biker being a jerk is about 20 mph and several broken bones. I'm all for bike riding in the city, it makes the most sense of any form of transportation in a densely populated city. But why do so many bikers have to be such dicks?

I'm with you bikers when you get into it with cars who don't respect your right of way, its the guys who feel the need to antagonize pedestrians who piss me off. Car is to bike as bike is to pedestrian.

The Brooklyn Bridge is the perfect example. The fact of the matter is that a lot of pedestrians use the Brooklyn Bridge on a nice day, a lot of them are tourists. If you can't handle that, don't take the Brooklyn Bridge! There are assholes who ride across the bridge with a whistle in their mouth so they can blow it at any pedestrian that comes anywhere near their side of the path.

Agreed on how dogs should be kept on a leash when on park paths/roads. I still think there should be dog-only areas in CP anyway, so that dogs are actually treated like any other pet and not like human beings. And I wouldn't use a water fountain anyway; be smart and bring your own water.

On the other hand, I get annoyed with spandex-bicyclists. They think they're pros and they curse at you anyway, even if you get out of their path. I hope those kinds of cyclists hit a rock and fall on their faces.

sigh...too many people, too little space time to get the fuck outa dodge.

As a biker in Central Park, it's not so bad--Park Drive is pretty wide and there's plenty of room for most.

Having said that... There's a sidewalk in most places. That's where pedestrians should be. In the sidewalk. Not in the middle of the street. And definitely not five abreast, blocking the bike paths. Some of the worst offenders in CP are the pedicab guys. They'll go two, three wide and there's no place to go.

Now, don't get be started on pedestrians in Hudson River Park.

The number one priority for the park should be to give people the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in as many manifestations as possible. For some people that includes bringing their dogs and allowing them to get some exercise. That does not, however, give them the right to create a hazardous environment for other park users. Cyclists should have the right to use the park drives. They have a responsibility to look out for their own safety and the safety of others. But, they should not have to risk breaking bones because some dog owners are not able to stop their dogs from running into the street.

There is no question that a fair number of cyclists are jerks. But is this not true of any cohort of people? On the other hand, a lot of cyclists are genuinely nice people who are committed to the outdoors and personal fitness. I think the real a-holes are the ones who think it is ok to denigrate an entire group of people that they don't even know. But I guess everyone is entitled to be an a-hole.

I live across the street from Prospect Park, and these spandex-wearing Lance Armstrong-wannabe pricks are the absolute worst. Every day I see them running through red lights and speeding through crosswalks, and then they have the nerve to yell and curse at little old ladies trying to cross the street. These guys need to understand that the park is not their personal Olympic training grounds - if they can't show basic courtesy to pedestrians they should go move someplace where they don't have to share the parks with 8 million other people.

agree with 16, sometimes bikers are not able to stop quickly enough - if you're walking and see a bike coming, use your head and get out of the way.

Let cars run in the park and problem solved... :-p

I'm going to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge and I bet I have to yell at at least 5 tourists to get out of the bike path or some entitled jogger/runner who bikes over the bridge for their own vain glory. I do it to get home after work.

As for post #9, no, whoever is going the slowest should move, they have the best reation time as they are doing nothing e.g walking in a fog.

Guest 12: you are right on. JFT a biker and blader and walker. Don't own a dog but like them.

Shoot dogs and abort children. Problem solved.

tourists get a pass, and we should get a kick out of them enjoying our city and its parks.

pet owners believe their animals are entitled to human rights.

stroller mommies are idiots, and their kids are doomed to being self-obsessed idiots themselves.

rollerbladers have to weave and that's part of the fun, but, it is their responsibility to be aware of their surroundings and not impede the rest of the flow.

bikers ditto, and they harbor more responsibility due to the fact that they are the fastest of the non motorized users.

runners and walkers use your heads.

but in general everyone needs to keep in mind - STAY TO THE RIGHT, regardless of the direction you're traveling.

The other morning I saw a woman let her golden retriever stand on his hind legs and slurp a drink out of a water fountain in Central Park. His tongue was all over it. It was utterly repulsive. Just a warning to stay away from the fountains.

Oops, re: point 1, I meant "clockwise." My bad.

Whoever is moving the fastest needs to be the one to give everyone else the right of way (re: cyclists!). They should be looking for enough ahead of them and anticipating what is going to happen since they are the ones who are potentially the most destructive. The hierarchy or right of way can go from there from fastest to slowest.

Speaking of which, to that wench with the three brats who yelled at me in Prospect Park for running towards them, allow me to retort:

1) You were walking with your rugrats counterclockwise. I wouldn't make a big deal about this if you hadn't opened your pie-hole, but technically you're in the wrong.

2) I am a runner. A rather stocky one at that. I wasn't doing 35 on a Cannondale, I lumbering along at an 8min/mile pace, hardly breakneck speed. As you were walking the wrong way (see point 1), you could see me coming a mile away, literally.

3) You yelled "I work for the Park, I know the rules!" Just because you staple flyers, answer phones, or pick up Fanta bottles around the Carousel doesn't mean you know better, clearly.

4) If I had wanted to knock your brats over like bowling pins, I could have. I didn't. I moved of your path, don't bitch me out for it.

Cheers [5]

those type of bicyclists are entitled a-holes

Could I just vote for "people who are bad at any of the above"? Bikers who ride in packs, rollerbladers who veer from side to side, dog owners who can't control their pets, tourists who stop in bad places... that's what's annoying, not just any one group of people per se.

most annoying are a specific breed of bicyclists. you know who you are, you lance armstrong wanna-be's with your $1,000+ bike and full out spandex looking like an idiot. i hate you.

Mayhem ensues in the Comments in three....two....one....

Runenrs should run in a gym and do the world a favor. Power walking groups should be outlawed. Owners of dogs and other pets should realize that their pet is not a person.

If you let your dog run unleashed on the CP path, then you should have your dog taken away from you and you should be fined and barred from owning another one. It's flat out not safe. Dogs are (brace yourselves) animals. They act in unpredictable ways. The humans - who are supposed to be the smart one - are morally obliged to make sure they stay safe, in some cases from their own instincts. There are plenty of dog runs and areas for dogs to run unleashed. The path is not one of them.

Having said that, to my fellow cyclists, it is always wrong to do anything to the dog that runs across your path due to it's owners gross negligence. Instead, do the poor pooch a favor and kick the owner. Hard.

I don't know about central park, but I know I have never, ever seen a bicyclist stop at a red light in prospect park. They also like to yell at people walking across while they run the light.