that sucks but i don't think anyone really NEEDS a fractured hand or sustained nerve damage. no one needs that.

Anybody on 2 wheels (incluidng bicyclists and motorcyclists) knows you have to watch out for edge traps or you can ruin your whole day in a hurry. Look where you're going dude.

Helmet?

Probably not

Following traffic patterns, doubt it.

Reap what you sow in the this world

Next please.

I got into a humdinger of a bike accident back in January on city property -- the badly maintained bike path around Meadow Lake at Flushing Meadows. I hit ice; flew off my bike; ripped my knee open, requiring 21 stitches; slammed my hip into concrete. Required five months of physical therapy.

I didn't sue the city. Ice happens. And falls happen.

What I am trying to do is get the city to patch up the bike/walking path. There are holes there that haven't been filled in years, and must be fixed.

I applaud this guy for bringing attention to crumbling infastructure. Maybe if I had sued, the bike path would be in better shape now.

I don't want to ride on smooth-as-silk surfaces. I look where I'm going, but when a hole is hidden under mud or what looks like a shallow puddle (surprise! Ice!), it's a horse of a different color. I'm talking basic maintainence. To not patch these problems is out and out neglect.

But hey, the money for Bloomberg's War on Salt has to come from somewhere.

I don't see the irony. Why is it ironic that this happened a few weeks before the DOT will resurface the bridge?

There is no irony. People do not understand the definition of irony, so they use it instead of reaching for the term that would truly describe the situation. As a write, I'd drop the irony all together and simply say 'The bridge is scheduled to be re-paved in a few weeks."

Agreed. Del Signore was attempting the Alanis Morrisette definition of irony.

It's a cosmic irony. Had he been biking on the middle of the bridge next month, when the bridge is resurfaced, this accident would most likely never have happened.

I have to say, this is apposite, not ironic.

Being that it appears to run perfectly down the center of the bridge, I suspect it is meant to be there and resurfacing won't get rid of it.

Any self-respecting biker who had failed to avoid that obvious crack would quickly look up to see if anyone saw such a stupid move, grimace, dust off, call self an idiot, and ride on. You don't announce to the world that you're an idiot. Um, unless it's lawsuit time.

Agreed, he should be thankful a tanker truck didn't roll over his head when he was crumpled up on the pavement.

Any rider who has logged any significant time riding in the streets of NYC keeps a lookout for pavement irregularities and potholes, along with clueless pedestrians, opening doors from parked cars, vehicles unexpectedly changing lanes and any number of potential problems on the ride. I keep a focus on the pavement a few seconds in front of me and then scan my eyes for potential trouble. Keep your weight back and a firm grip on the bars and you can avoid these problems. This guy is just a shitty cyclist.

Is he blind?

Oh damn, he broke his mother's back.

Pulaski is a pain if you're heading to/from Sunnyside.

Signs telling cyclists to dismount and walk across bridges are the equivalent of demanding drivers get out and push their cars. Not only is it less convenient for them, its less convenient for everyone else because then we take up more space. (they have them on the Pulaski, too). The signs should say "narrow path, don't ride like a dick."

But, I don't know why he'd be riding the yellow lines on that bridge. Was traffic so backed up that it was stopped?

I crossed that bridge several times a week last summer and never had a problem on the right side, despite the speeding traffic. The lanes will be helpful, though.

& that road surface sucks.

There will also be bike / ped access to the new Koscziusko.

I ride this bridge almost every day and see cyclists both in the road and on the sidewalk. I think the sidewalk is technically supposed to allow cyclists, since it has a green line painted on the curb. There is the sign saying to dismount, but they also have those on the Pulaski right above the bike lane painting. As Wiley Norvel pointed out to Miss Heather last year (RE: the Pulaski), the dismount signs are there b/c it's a draw bridge and are most likely a federal regulation (http://www.newyorkshitty.com/?.... Cyclists are only supposed to dismount for the draw bridge portion in the center (not that anyone does).

So I do believe cyclists are allowed on the sidewalk here (and it is marked a bike lane on maps). On the weekends I always just use the road b/c there isn't much traffic, but commuting to work I'd rather stay on the sidewalk rather than have oil and garbage trucks up my ass. I hardly ever see anyone walking over the bridge when commuting, but do follow the nonexistent "don't ride like a dick" signs. In general, everyone riding over that bridge, in the street or not, is very polite and orderly in my experience.

As for the cyclist in question: as many pointed out, there is absolutely no reason to be in the middle of the yellow lines. And if that crack was anywhere else, you just have to pay attention. This guy would probably kill himself trying to ride Nassau Ave. I have to agree with bittinho that he is just a shitty cyclist.

I ride this bridge really often too, and I disagree that people ride responsibly on the sidewalks - I really often see people come zipping down the downhill section on the sidewalks in the wrong direction. the sidewalks are inadequate as bike lanes because they aren't wide enough so that two people can pass one another safely, and are even rougher than the road surface. Without commenting on this particular accident, the bridge is a deathtrap and the resurfacing/reconfigure will benefit cars, trucks, and bikers alike.

Ah. Didn't realize it was a fed. regulation relating to drawbridges.

The narrow path is a problem on the Pulaski, though.

Take a traffic lane on that under utilized span and make a 2 way separated bike path.

(I normally ride in traffic on that one, but it's been months)

A sign that says "don't ride like a dick" would be the equivalent of a law that says "don't drive your car like a dick"...oh.

Good to hear they are adding bike access to the Kos - source?