July 13, 2007
Bicyclist Quality of Life Improvements in Brooklyn
Yesterday saw two important moment in the Department of Transportation's handling of bicylist quality of life issues. One was the installation of bike racks on North 7th at Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, which the DOT said was "the first time car parking spaces have been removed to accommodate bicycle parking in New York City." Previously, cops have sawed through locks chained to the subway entrance and impounded bikes, leading to community demand for bike racks.
The other was that a stretch of bike lane on Henry Street between Clark and Montague in Brooklyn Heights had been painted green to better distinguish the path from the rest of the road. The DOT is reportedly testing out other color schemes (which Brownstoner would like), but let's face it - any paint is better than none since many times cars drive over the plain, unpainted bike lanes. Now, if only the DOT and city could do more to get drivers off actual bike paths.
Update: The picture of a DHL delivery truck parked squarely in the green bike lane on Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights accompanying a New York Sun article is not encouraging.
Photographs of Brooklyn Heights' super green bike path by dietrich on Flickr
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I don't own a bike, but I am very much in support of improving the streets for bikers. I do wish they as a group would pay more attention to traffic laws, though. It's hard to stay on their side in the never-ending debate in this city over biker rights when I constantly see them riding on sidewalks, running red lights, and similar - not just delivery guys either, but people biking as a part of their commute or for pleasure.
If you want the same rights as cars - rights I think you should have - then you need to be prepared to follow the same rules as cars.
Nonetheless, I continue to strongly approve of any bike-friendly changes the city chooses to make.
I know Bloomberg says he wants to make NYC a greener city, and generally speaking I agree with him, but wow, I didn't realize he was talking about that shade of green. Yuck.
looks like the same shade of green they used at the pearl street "park" in DUMBO
cwbuecheler, I know that you're not alone with wishing more bicyclists obeyed traffic laws, and certainly many may take advantage of certain street situation. But I feel like drivers of cars, trucks, SUVs, whatever, need to be better on the road - the number of cars that view stop signs as "go slower" reminders makes me crazy!
Now that it's painted bright green it makes it even easier for me to know where to drive to run the bikers over.
i biked to work today for the first time, and it was my first time biking in manhattan, and i think there should be dedicated, painted, bike lanes on EVERY street in this city.
Every time there's bike news there's the same sparring match of fanatical drivers and fanatical bike riders, proving that civilization is doomed. (Of course the bike riders do have the high moral ground about everything, but that's just my opinion.) Anyway, anyone thinking of starting the tired arguments up again should give it a rest.
Jen - definitely. I'm sure the total number of traffic laws broken by car/truck drivers in a given day is WAY higher than the number broken by bikers. It's just something I've thought about when I see a bicyclist come up to a red light, slow down waiting for a break in traffic, and then zoom through it.
Given that I jaywalk at practically every intersection that I come to, I can't exactly be pointing fingers. I'm pretty sure everyone in this city breaks some law or another roughly once every twenty minutes. :)
I completely agree that bikers should stay off of the sidewalks, but I think bikers running red lights when there is no traffic is akin to pedestrians crossing when they have no signal much more than it is akin to cars running reds
cwbuecheler: I agree that people riding bikes on the sidewalk should have their bikes impounded, there's no excuse for that. However, when riding a bike anywhere in NYC you have to ride offensively to keep yourself safe. If that means blowing through red lights and weaving in and out traffic lanes, than so be it. When bikes and cars meet, they don't have itsy bitsy fender benders. The bikers end up in the hospital. I try to follow as many traffic laws as I possibly can, but the bottom line is I'll do whatever I deem is necessary to keep my myself and my bike out from under the wheels of the Navigator that's been tail gaiting me for a dozen blocks. Bikes have the right of way, and until car drivers get a clue, riding cowboy is the only way to keep yourself safe. People who who say otherwise haven't logged enough NYC miles to know the truth.
I haven't tried out the new painted lane yet, but as a cyclist I'd be concerned, road paint and rain combine to create one of the most slippery surfaces out there on a bike. Then again most NYC bike lanes are so close to parked cars that they are more dangerous than the rest of the street, as they are in prime "dooring" range.
Who cares about the paint color?! The initiative is great and I think that Brooklyn can act as a microcosm for a movement that in time will hopefully spread to Manhattan. Bike racks and the green lane are a great start, I hope this gains momentum.
Well put emilydickinson.
I too am a daily cyclist in the city. One thing that has to be cleared up here though, is this misconception about cyclist on sidewalks. The ONLY people on sidewalks are food delivery guys (and they are dead wrong doing it) and kids. I'm not sure how I feel about kids on sidewalks. But there are no real cyclists on sidewalks. Ever. I never see this supposed phenomenon.
But on the whole, any move to improve cycling safety and encourage more to ride is welcome.
cwbuecheler: hey do you jaywalk? do you ever cross at the middle of the street? You wait until there is a green light to cross the street all the time right? Thought so. Fuck You! Shut the fuck up about following the rules of the rode. HYPOCRITE!
when was the last time you saw a car yield to a pedestrian? it's like a cat and mouse game.
jaywalking, kinda dangerous isn't it? isn't jaywalking crossing at the red? try that on the blvd of death at your own risk.
I know we're all tough guys here but I haven't jaywalked since I was a kid. I'm too slow to race a car. I ain't in no hurry.
my bike hits a car, car gets a dent, car hits me on my bike, much worse.
I would have to agree with emilydickinson in that you do have to tactically break some traffic regulations if you want to avoid a trip to the hospital.
However, drivers are often at fault, especially those who are clueless and don't know that right turn on red is verboten in the city (except where signed). It is no fun almost getting clipped by some SUV driving asshole illegally talking on the cell phone and turning right on red. Then you have the assholes who double park in bike lanes. I have seen everyone from UPS and FedEx to cabs to ambulances (not responding to an emergency, unless you consider lunch an emergency) block the bike lane. Blocking the bike lane should be a towable offense. Let them go to the impound yard to pick up their car or truck.
Riding a bike on the sidewalk, unless specifically signed (think Pulaski Bridge), is against the law unless you are below a certain age (15 I think). I have found that most of the over 15 set who does bike on the sidewalk is either some sort of delivery person, or some clueless and helmetless person more often than not with a pair of earphones on. They deserve to have their bikes impounded.
Too bad the neighborhood doesnt get to chose its own color. Wouldn't it be great if the people having to live with/look at the bike lane had the privilege to create their own design? Like street murals throughout the city... I think I could be pretty cool.
I wonder if the city would allow each neighborhood to color/design their own lane. It could be like individualized street murals throughout the city... Could be pretty cool.
i like colors.
i am all for highlighting the bike lane (and i even like the green), all too often, cars double park or use it as a turn lane. my question however, is what happens when this paint gets wet? if it's the same paint they use to mark streets with, these bike lanes are going to turn into slippery death traps with just a few drops of rain.
Jen - definitely. I'm sure the total number of traffic laws broken by car/truck drivers in a given day is WAY higher than the number broken by bikers. It's just something I've thought about when I see a bicyclist come up to a red light, slow down waiting for a break in traffic, and then zoom through it./i>
How does that stack up when compared to the number of drivers and cars on the road and the number of cyclists? I rarely see cars run red lights in Manhattan (stop signed is another matter) but I never see cyclists stop at red lights - ever. And cyclists on the bike paths along the rivers show more disdain for pedestrians than cars do.
This could look very cool on GoogleMaps satellite photos. Also it's kind of like riding along the path to an environmental Oz (Follow the Green Brick Road!)
Just for the record, I totally understand breaking the rules to avoid injury and/or death. It's the breaking of them for convenience that I have concerns about, simply because it puts the cyclist and sometimes pedestrians at risk (yes, jaywalking puts me at risk too. Absolutely. Not denying it).
I agree wholeheartedly that in the car vs. bike debate, bikes are at a severe physical disadvantage and thus, like pedestrians, deserve extra rights and privileges. I'm sure biking in this city's a nightmare. Dealing with the cab drivers alone must be a huge pain in the ass, let alone dealing with drivers who don't know the city, or who are just assholes.
And I agree that about 98% of the bikes on sidewalks are delivery guys or kids. Maybe the other 2% are delivery guys who I'm not recognizing as delivery guys. Not sure.
I really wasn't trying to start a bikers vs. drivers debate, I swear to god. I haven't even been reading this site that long and I still know it's a bad idea. I was just musing on the subject.
Graying guests is a bit annoying and ineffective. The "guest" handle is clear enough. Besides, the "member" handles are no less annonymous after all. "Accountability" in this case is just a choice for folks to build a clear identity, which should be a choice, not a requirement. Most readers of Gothamist got past 8th grade and can tell at a glance if we want to fully read a post or not. How can the the cutting edge of NYC blogs be so internet retro?
gfrance wrote: "The ONLY people on sidewalks are food delivery guys (and they are dead wrong doing it) and kids. I'm not sure how I feel about kids on sidewalks. But there are no real cyclists on sidewalks. Ever."
Not true. It seems I am always yelling at bike riders to get off the sidewalk! People are constantly riding their bikes on the sidewalk on the upper east side. Regular people, not delivery guys. I happened to see a middle-aged woman slowly pedaling up Second Avenue on the sidewalk just this week, as a matter of fact!
Riding a bike on the sidewalk is unlawful (not illegal), but most people don't seem to know that. I must say, however, that most car drivers do not seem to be aware that there is a law against entering an intersection while pedestrians are in the crosswalks.
humph
I might be more in support of bicyclists if they were more observant of traffic laws and respectful of pedestrians - from my experience living in manhattan - they seem to act like lights/stop signs don't apply to them. I've seen them come too close to hitting pedestrians and then acting like its the pedestrians fault.
Again, I ride nearly 20 miles a day on the streets. However, I cannot honestly tell you what the law says about bikes and red lights. I ride under the assumption that bikes are somewhere between motor vehicles and a pedestrian, in that they are allowed to "jayride" thru red lights (cautiously of course), but must otherwise ride the street as if a motorized vehicle. But I'm not sure. I do know that I rid thru lights all the time with cops watching me and have never been ticketed. But I'm not recklessly blasting thru the light. I slow, and proceed with caution.
No, gfrance, a bike is not "somewhere between a motor vehicle and a pedestrian". If you are on the road you are subject all traffic laws, rules and signs.
And actually the same traffic laws apply to rollerbladers on public roads.
STOP STOP STOP!!!
How bikers ride is NOT a justification for whether to give room for them on the streets.
FACT: People ride bikes in NYC.
Let's try to make this a safe practice.
Effective strategies for making bikers obey traffic laws will never include making the practice less safe or giving them less room.
The two things have NOTHING to do with each other.
I really like the idea of bike lanes being protected from traffic by parked cars and bikes. Check out this photo from Flickr of this genius (but should be common sense) idea. I think I'd feel so much safer if this were the case in NYC.
i barely ever bike around the city, but when will they realize that painting a line in the road does virtually NOTHING to help or accomodate bicyclists?? start making some goddamn bike paths
#21:
Cars usually don't run red lights but there's a large number of other infractions that make them really dangerous to other cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. Big ones are passing on the right, passing in a bike lane, parking in a bike lane, double parking, failing to yield to pedestrians, blasting through yellow lights, and whipping their cars around corners (this is very dangerous to pedestrians who often have the light).
And while we're at it, the bike paths along the river are bikes and rollerblades ONLY. No pedestrians permitted. I don't know why people insist on walking and jogging on the bike path, the riverfront path is far more attractive.
This debate is all well and good. Pedestrians have the right of way in most - not all - street situations. Aside from that, cars in the Manhattan and greater NYC (5 boroughs) have become a problem. The fact that we have put matters into our own hands by riding a bike as a means of traveling faster than walking is just more proof that we need better alternatives to driving and mass transit.
Manhattan and Brooklyn have gained lots of press lately. The parks and the bike lanes in those boroughs are there. They may not be all that effective but at least they exist. Try riding around in Queens, in an area like Jackson Heights or Corona or Woodside. Then what? Thought it was BAD in Williamsburg where almost everyone owns a bike? Or come up to where I live in the north east Bronx. I'd rather maneuver through the gridlock on 3rd ave or 5th ave in the UES than ride the mile I live from the train. No paths and very few people who can drive choose not to. That should be the focus. Spread this bike lane love around.
TK, regarding your suggestion that it would be cool if each neighborhood could design its own lane, neighborhoods in Portland Oregon decorate their own intersections with paint, plants and benches, as part of traffic-calming and community-building. I've seen it in person and it's awesome. It could definitely work in parts of NYC--in theory, anyway:
http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/photos-from-village-building-convergence-intersection-repair/
Yeah, each neighborhood can choose its own color!
For the Meatpacking district - brown [from its current and former designation as the fudge-packing district]
Greenwich Village - lavender. Or Violet. Gives you NYU and the gays.
Park Slope - is it a boys' or a girls' color?
Brooklyn Heights - Crane and Co. US currency green.
Bensonhurst - I'll give you your fu----' color, right here!
And so on.
Actually, the green bike path lane has been in Bk Heights and Cobble Hill for months now and it is a lot more useful than the white line since it is very visible to drivers. To answer the concerns, it does not get slippery when it rains. If only they could spread this idea to the rest of the City!
No CWBUECHELER, you are not mistaken, bicyclists do ride on the sidewalk. Yes, GFRANCE there are "Real bicyclists on the sidewalk" not just delivery bikes.
I remember a while back, a commenter was just as adamant as GFRANCE about real bikers being on sidewalks and I thought I was mistaken. But since then I started paying attention. I live in the East Village and pretty much every day I see a non-delivery biker riding on the sidewalk (often multiples times in one day) and it's not like I'm outside for hours.
And, as exemplified by by Guest Commenter 14, some bikers (not all) are self-righteous, hypocritical whiners with anger problems who are quick to point fingers while completely ignoring or justifying their own terrible behavior as a response to the chaos of the city.
It's not the end of the world if you acknowledge that a large segment of bikers break the laws--and not just because they are avoiding crazy cars or unmindful pedestrians. Yes, bikers are on sidewalks, yes I've seen people get hit by bikers or have been hit by bikers, yes regular bikers run through red lights and almost plow though pedestrians or expect them to jump out of the way, etc. Get a grip bikers, you are not innocent martyrs.
And while we're at it, the bike paths along the river are bikes and rollerblades ONLY. No pedestrians permitted. I don't know why people insist on walking and jogging on the bike path, the riverfront path is far more attractive.
A) Pedestrians sometimes have to cross the bikepaths. Bikers should slow down, not whip around them like a skier passing a slalom gate and cursing at the same time.
B) There is a long stretch of the Hudson River Park in Tribeca where the pedestrian path is closed. Cyclists are SOL on this one and should yield to the pedestrians.
C) The cyclists are often on the pedestrian areas anyway especially on the East River park where they don't seem to grasp that the cycling path is under the FDR Drive. The area next to the water with the nice potted plants is for pedestrians. Stay on your path.
gfrance,
The law is quite clear. From the DVM driver's manual:
I had a reminder of how much drivers suck just yesterday. Just stepping into a crosswalk with the light when a jackass making a right turn cut me off. And he had the gall to honk at me, too! There's never a cop around when you need one.
I have a car. (Actually, I have two right now. Trying to sell an old volvo if anyone is interested.) I drive around Brooklyn from time to time (currently 9 months pregnant and can't walk for too long these days in the heat). I was/am also a bike user. I gotta tell ya, the general driving population of NYC (and Brooklyn) is filled with disgruntled, rushed, hostile people. They are cruel to all walks of life, other drivers included. If you so much as take a minute to put the car into first gear at a newly turned greenlight, people tend to honk angrily, try and drive around you, and flip you off. What happened to these people that made them so angry?
I can't believe how aggressive people are. Unfortunately, when they're aggressive to those on bikes or on foot, they kill them. For those of us in cars who aren't driving like absolute disgruntled assholes, usually they just ruin our day.
I wish attaining a license was more difficult. Or that the police weren't so busy frying bigger fish. I'd love to see more penalties given for speeding and/or aggressive driving. I'd also like to see people happier in life and therefore less angry behind the wheel.
Oh, and also, I am so happy that more is being done for bike riders, but I agree with what someone else said, until the drivers are safer, we're not in great shape.
But, yeah, more bike friendly roads are a wonderful thing.
I must live in a different city. Why do I never see REAL (real being defined as someone cycling a meaningful distance for commuting purposes or for exercise) cyclists on the sidewalks.... for one, there are too many people on the sidewalk to maneuver. It is too dangerous to ride on the sidewalks with people... period. If you don't know this already, you are not a real cyclist. Yes, I'll concede the person going half a block to the entrance to their apt. Or a little old lady pulling up to a store or something. But you will not convince me people go about cycling any meaningful distance or speed on the sidewalk. It just does not happen here. I am on the streets every day all year. I just don't see what you claim.
A) I'm not sure what [21] and [33] are talking about - cars blow through lights that have just turned red all the time. I hope they start installing more of those red light cameras so they can catch more of those people.
B) Thanks JRod5417 - it's good to hear that the green paint doesn't get slippery when it rains.
C) [39], I think you're wrong about peds crossing the Hudson River Bike Path. If you're crossing and there's a biker coming you should stop and wait, same as if you're crossing a street - it's a lot easier and safer for you to stop and speed back up than a biker who's going 15-20 mph. However, you're right that cyclists need to take it easy in the area where the bike path is closed and stay in the bike path on the east side.
D) I'm neither a delivery guy nor a kid, and I rarely ride on the sidewalk, but there are occasions when I do, such as cobblestone streets or if I feel really unsafe about the way people are driving around me. I understand that I'm inconveniencing pedestrians and so I'll ride accordingly and try to get back into the street as soon as it's safe to do so, but the inconvenience to pedestrians, frankly, is less important to me than making sure I don't get killed by some cabbie who's decided to pass another car on the right at 50 mph.
#27:
the law for bicyclists and rollerbladers alike are the same as vehicular traffic—you need to follow the same rules of the road as cars do. While tickets are rare for running a red light, the stiff fines, if caught, do apply.
The sad truth is tons of people ride bikes on the sidewalk. I work in SoHo (a neighborhood known for it's attitude of sharing and caring for others) and I see bikes on the sidewalk all day long. I hate to stereotype who is and who isn't a 'real' cyclist, but people riding on the sidewalk tend to be people out for a 'leisure cruise' with very little control of their bikes. I think they ride on the sidewalk because they are too afraid to ride in traffic. In which case they shouldn't be riding a bike in NYC. Riding a bike here isn't like tooling around your college campus, it's a skill that you have to learn just like driving a car or anything else.
As an aside, please people wear a helmet!
I ride my bike around Brooklyn all the time, generally obeying traffic laws (although I'm as guilty as anyone for blowing through red lights). What gets me is that there have been many times, as a pedestrian, that I've almost been run down by a biker going the wrong way down a 1-way street. I often shout at them that they're going the wrong way, but (a) some think it's ok to do so if they're in a bike lane, and (b) many don't care and/or think that, as bikers, they're infallible.
I'm all for more room for bikers on the streets, but if bikers want to be taken more seriously by the DOT, by the City, and by drivers, they need to act more responsibly in the streets instead of copping out with a "I'm a biker" holier-than-thou attitude.
I ride on the sidewalk if there is a huge traffic on the roads and the sidewalk has very few people. That being said. I usually am on the road. Also, I will abide by the street rules when pedestrians abide by the street rules. You Jaywalking hypocrites
i was on this bike path yesterday night and a huge acura SUV was just sitting in the middle of it. there was plenty of room on the other side of the street to park.
maybe the lady was colorblind? it's awful hard to miss that bike lane now.
One more thing the people who "ride offensively" need to keep in mind. If you break the law and you get in an accident, even if it wasn't really your fault, you won't have a leg to stand on in court.
I have never "blown through a red light" or woven in and out of traffic on my bike. If you want to be treated like a vehicle, act like a vehicle.
As for the DHL truck in the green lane, there needs to be more than just a green lane. Put big, honking lettering in there: "BIKES ONLY. $500 FINE FOR BLOCKING LANE." Then enforce it. They'll get the message quickly.
Also, I obviously meant DMV and not DVM in my last post. Although Department of Vehicular Manslaughter sounds about right for NYC.