There's a shortage of pigs and what do the pigs concentrate on? ticketing. not arresting.

Cops = pigs = terrorists

fuck bike lanes. we rode bikes in this city without them for years. Now they put them in and all of a sudden cyclists are a bunch of self righteous dicks. Be happy u got them in the first place and stop whining cuz someone blocked ur lane. It's called double parking it sucks for everyone. Half the cyclists I see don't use the lanes anyway and still get mad at cars. I rode a bike for years in this town and now that I have to drive to work I can tell you what a bunch of bullshit this bicycle rights shit is.

You know what's especially baffling, I've noticed in SoHo, especially on Prince Street, people just walk in the bike lane like it's an extension of the sidewalk... and as a bonus they usually don't move out of the way back onto the sidewalk even when a bike is in the lane and they're right in its way.

I noticed this too and have been guilty (not about not moving for a bike though) this is typically because the sidewalks in soho are narrow and packed with confused tourists and their shopping bags. If you actually have somewhere to go it's hard to maneuver. When the tourists start oozing out onto the street/bike lane though that's bad.

The city would also make a bundle by issuing tickets to bikers. For example, on Bleecker Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, there is a pedestrian crossing. Bikers act like they have the right of way over pedestrians. The city would make a bundle ticketing bikers that play chicken with pedestrians.

what's this thing called traffic school? I'm a nyc public school grad.

and yes, you park in the bike lane it will force the biker to go around you and into traffic where it may or may not be more dangerous.

Oh boo, hoo, hoo

I saw a person standing on the inside white line of the bike lane(closest to the sidewalk) get a ticket.

The I walked one block to the Farmers Market at Tompkins Square Park and saw ALL of the trucks parked in the bike lanes.

The trucks posed the biggest threat to the bikers and am not sure why they were/are allowed to stay.

DollinNYC :

Those trucks are a safety issue, but they have been using that spot, every Sunday, every week, for years. And they are generally courteous and safe when they do take up ped/bike areas to run the market.

Making the bike lane two solid white lanes in that spot as more of a design oversight on the DOT's part, so traffic cops probably understand this and let it slide.

When a bike lane is blocked that means cyclists are pushed into moving traffic, so it's illegal for a reason.

I'm pro-bikelane and pro-cycling but I'm calling BS on that one. From what I understood from traffic school oh so many years ago was that "on the road a bicycle is just another vehicle and bears all the rights and responsibilities accorded thereof." Meaning yes, bikes must stop at traffic lights and stop signs, and signal turns, but it also means you can cycle right in center of the lane just like a car, and if cars are stuck behind you well that's just too friggin' bad for them. Cyclists ride on the side of the road as a courtesy to motor vehicles, not because they're legally required to.

So I'm coming down on the sides of -

NO to parking in the bike lanes

OK with using them for the quick motor-running drop off or pick up (but there should be some sort of time limit.)

And if you're using the bike lane, remember to plan a few steps ahead. Car in the lane 100 feet ahead? Slow down, signal, wait for the gap, pull into traffic, then swing back when you can. And wear a hemlet dammit!

Agreed. If it's a taxi, an ambulance or a Fedex truck, I have no problem with them stopping in the bike lane. If it's some asshole who's run to the local pizzeria to grab a slice, I spit on his windshield and keep on biking. :)

Amen. I'm a cyclist and a driver in this city. Courtesy is required on both sides of the aisle to make transit work.

Brooklyn -- God Bless, but you're acting like you're some kind of king on that bike of yours. Stop at lights, signal, and try to work with the folks around you.

the solution is segregated bike lanes with barriers that are too small for cars to fit into

other cities have figured it out, why is nyc so far behind

Like many of you, I live on a street with a bike lane between the parked cars and the car lane, and am at a bit of a loss as to how to go about loading/unloading a car or taxi packed with luggage or children in a manner that's safe for cyclists, drivers and the occupants of the car. On these streets it seems there is no good place to stop:

<ul><li>If you stop in the bike lane, you obstruct bike traffic and risk a ticket.
</li><li>If you stop in the car lane, cars will just zoom into the bike lane to get around you, putting your own safety as well as bikers' safety in jeopardy.
</li><li>During the day you can pull up to the nearest fire hydrant, but at night (between sundown and sunrise) that's illegal and also risks a ticket.</li></ul>
Perhaps the solution is to create a one-car-length loading/unloading zone on every block with a bike lane so that cars can safely pull out of traffic without blocking the bike lane or a fire hydrant.

"am at a bit of a loss as to how to go about loading/unloading a car or taxi packed with luggage or children in a manner that's safe for cyclists,"

How about: go half a block to the next intersection, turn and stop on the side street that doesn't have bike lane. And then the hard part: walk half a block.

How about: go half a block to the next intersection, turn and stop on the side street that doesn't have bike lane. And then the hard part: walk half a block.

Maybe that works in your neighborhood, but all four streets surrounding my block are two-way streets with bike lanes and street parking on both sides. With the exception of open parking spaces (rare), fire hydrants (where you can't legally stop after dark) and bus stops (where you can only stop if you don't interfere with buses), I can't think of anywhere within a 3-4 block radius of my apartment where you can stop a car without blocking either a bike lane or an active car lane.

I don't own a car and don't take taxis all that often. But every so often I need to unload a child or an old person or a bunch of luggage from a rental car or taxi, and I need a safe and legal way to do that. There is more than enough space on the streets where I live--they've just laid out the bikelanes in a way that makes it impossible.

Walk in the city?! Nooooooo I want to treat a highly congested urban environment like my personal suburban cul-de-sac!

Parking is too cheap on your street and is therefore over-used. If parking was actually priced appropriately for the prime NYC real estate that it was, there would be a space open for you to quickly load/unload.

shameless gothamist commentator baiting.

so true. No doubt Gothamist has a list of topics to generate comments.

1. cyclists

2. rent control

3. the MTA

4. graffiti as art

5. people who abuse animals

6. hipsters

7. cops