Schumer's Wife on Western Front of Park Slope Bike Lane War

Courtesy Jeff Prant (via Streetsblog)

Thought the pitched battle over the Prospect Park West bike lane war was settled now that the DOT has finished installing the beautiful two-lane dedicated bike path along the park? It has only begun. Earlier this week, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz—who previously called DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan a pro-biking "zealot" for putting in the bike lane—attended an anti-bike lane meeting at the residence of avid cyclist Senator Chuck Schumer, who resides in Park Slope. Has Schumer gone over to the dark, four-wheel side?!

A Schumer staffer denies it, responding to an inquiry about the meeting by saying, "That is a very bizarre rumor and there is no truth to it whatsoever. As I’m sure you are aware, the Senator is an avid biker and would never be involved with something like this especially before the final analysis has been completed." But his wife and adult daughters have joined the Facebook group No Bike Lane on Prospect Park West, and a source tells the Daily News that Schumer's wife, who just so happens to be former NYC DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, "is strongly opposed" to the bike lane.

Opponents say the protected bike lane, which is separated from traffic on Prospect Park West by a nice lane of parked cars, has created traffic problems on the boulevard, which lost a lane of car traffic as a result of the change. They also maintain that pedestrians are endangered by reckless cyclists blasting through intersections on the bike lane. (Many of these cyclists previously pedaled on the wide sidewalk along the park.) And furthermore, why can't they just ride their bikes inside the park, which sometimes doesn't have any cars zooming through it?

But Sadik-Khan isn't backing down (yet) under pressure from her predecessor. "These are no longer the days of the wild Prospect Park West, a street where 70% of cars used to speed and 46% of bicyclists cycled on the sidewalk," she said in a statement. "The paint on this community-proposed project is barely dry, yet it has already calmed traffic, made bike traffic more predictable and made it safer to reach Prospect Park." And in an editorial, the Brooklyn Paper cheered the current commish, saying:

For all the hysteria in its first two weeks, the Prospect Park West bike lane has already solved many problems: it has gotten cyclists off the sidewalk, it has slowed down cars, it has turned Prospect Park West back into a neighborhood street instead of a thruway, and it has strengthened the connection between the park itself and the roadway that frames its western border.
We call that a win for everyone—except drivers, who have had it too good for too long.

And to lock horns with the anti-bike lane Facebook page, there's a pro-bike lane Facebook page! Which is great, but with such a horrific war raging, how much longer can Foursquare remain silent?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on July 2, 2010 4:48 PM

Comments [rss]

greeen

ALL FRESH DIRECT TRUCKS should be permanently banned from the streets. they are the loudest most obnoxious polluting nuisances.

furthermore, the Kent ave bike lane should be banished before this one gets a chance to prove itself. That path is constantly blocked by trucks (four of them last time I rode it) and has made the interior of the Northside neighorhood street totally clogged with speeding trucks on formerly quiet blocks.

r1b2

I second that. Fresh Direct drivers double park at will, leave their trucks for extended periods, and then are extremely rude when they finally arrive.

hellx

While I'm a fan of the bike path, the Courier op-ed does make a legitimate point: there are no stoplights when cyclists are headed north, only flashing yellow lights.

It would be helpful to me, as a cyclist, to know when pedestrians have the light.

twentyfive25

The group "Jews Against Humanity" once again comes to mind.

r1b2

That's probably because you're an asshole.

blink

I'm the realist, you're the asshole.

r1b2

There is no sane argument against the bike lane, and that folks protest it is almost amusing.

hip hop's finest

Maybe Schumer and his wife should take up the plebeian act of riding a bike?

bradedward

I believe Schumer and Markowitz live along Prospect Park West, which probably explains why they are up in arms. While I think the bike lane slowed down traffic for cars which is great) bikes now seem to be the problem.

I myself have stepped onto the bike path without realizing it and almost got hit a couple times. Yes I wasn't looking where I was going, but it just seems to easy to get hit.

Clarence

It's pretty amazing that some people are even wasting their time opposing something so sensical and logical. The bike lane is amazing. Thursday I saw children riding in it! You'd never see that on the old PPW configuration.

Drivers are going slower. Cyclists are safer. Pedestrians (and seniors) have less street to cross. One complaint I have heard mentioned often is that when cars double park, then it only leaves one lane free. Using that logic, then we should rip up the bike lane? Puh-lease. So it is okay to encourage illegal behavior and accommodate it?

mistermarkdavis

This is the most reasonable comment ever on a thread about bike lanes. how much do you ride your bike for transportation and how much do you ride ti for recreation? is this lane making it easier for you to ride for transportation?

Pålægpåtoppenafsmørrebrød

I use my bicycle primarily for transportation and although I don't live in the areas served by this bike path, I see the benefits. Commuters from PPS and the vicinity of the 15th ST F station had no route between their neighborhood and Fort Greene (The entrance of the Manhattan Br) less they chose to take 5th Avenue which is a nightmare. The path in the park is unidirectional and open to cars.

famdoc

I live near PPW, am a biker, a pedestrian and a car owner.

There is so much potential for disaster (have you walked across PPW to the park? You need to stop and look both ways three times), yet the end result of the reduction in car lanes to two lanes, the creation of bike lanes and the new parking pattern may not be realized in a week, a month or a year. Ultimately, the effect on the quality of life in the neighborhood is a gradual one, but one I believe will be positive.

CitrineNYC

As someone who lives on PPW and didn't get to vote on the bike lane, I can tell you that bikes are still riding on the sidewalk. I've witnessed some fender benders already due to the fewer lanes of traffic. With taxis, UPS and Fresh Direct blocking one lane, all the traffic which used to merge over into two open lanes if one was blocked, now gets jammed up into just one lane complete with increased honking and noise. Nope. No thanks. Bike lane doesn't work for me.

wac0202

There were several widely publicized community board meetings, if you didn't go to make your voice heard, that's your problem. I also live on PPW and traffic is significantly CALMER, which is part of the point. If it backs up a little, good. People have treated it as a speedway for too long, and pedestrians should appreciate the slowing of traffic, since the right turns at high speeds have been a big problem (I know, the front will of my building has been destroyed twice in the past year by a car going too fast to make a turn). You are so concerned about traffic, did you speak up against Atlantic Yards? Just wait...

mistermarkdavis

talk to your community board and the police to enforce the law that cyclists can;t be on the sidewalk. Cyclist should not be ridding on the sidewalk.

cyclists still on the sidewalk doesn't mean the lane isn't needed. ti means it is needed and it needs to be used. it soudns to me liek the street isn;t working as a street becasue it is beign used as a parking lane.

enforce the laws that exist. it's that simple.

John L

I'm sooooooo tired of these bike lanes. There's so much wrong with this city right now and the city's money is scarce and all these people can think about is bike lanes. I'm not against them but in a city of 10-12 million people how many cyclists are there and how much money is all of this costing us? Bikes been co-existing and get along before these lanes and if these lanes waited until the city actually had the money to take on these projects what would be the harm? For example they just closed up so many senior citizen centers what are those old folks going to do now? So many after school programs shutting down, no where do the kids go? But even if there were no bike lanes cyclists would still be getting around as they always have.

We've lost vital, essential services but are wasting so much on freaking bike lanes, let's get our priorities straight!

mistermarkdavis

good thing we live in a city of 8 million, and bicycle infrastructure is inexpensive compared to car infrastructure.

In the last ten years bicycle ridership has doubled. There is a desperate need for more, better infrastructure.

MelissaM

Get real people. How much money does it cost to have a bike lane? It's infrastructure. I'll tell you that the reason we have so few bikers compared to other cities is that it's plainly unsafe in many places. Look at Stockholm or Amsterdam- good bike infrastructure= bikers.