Video: Cops Ticket Cyclists in Central Park, Not Speeding Drivers

As of February 11th, the NYPD handed out 123 tickets to cyclists for traffic infractions in Central Park. We're trying to determine how many citations were issued to motor vehicle drivers during that time, but we're guessing it's fewer, if this video is any indication. The speed limit in the Central Park loop is 25 mph, but this video documents drivers speeding with impunity.

The video, posted on Transportation Alternatives' Facebook page, was recorded on Wednesday at about 4:00 p.m., on East Drive (the eastern leg of the Central Park loop) at approximately 100th Street. (Another video on the Facebook page shows an NYPD officer sitting in a vehicle near the speeders.) We contacted the NYPD to find out how many speeding tickets have been handed out in Central Park this year, and we'll updated if we find more.

If you're concerned about the cycling crackdown in Central Park and want to get involved, Transportation Alternatives' East Side Committee suggests you attend the next Central Park Precinct Community Council meeting on March 14th at 7 p.m., 160 Central Park West. We're told the East Side Committee members will be attending "to ask that traffic enforcement priorities be re-focused on dangerous behavior." We're sure the NYPD will get right on that.

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

By John Del Signore in News on February 25, 2011 1:18 PM

Comments [rss]

Petey

Has anyone on here who has ever driven ever been pulled over by NYPD, and written a ticket for speeding other than by a highway cop? I doubt that most, if any non highway cops could even write a speeding summons.

mistermarkdavis

Remember this? http://gothamist.com/2009/06/0...

The speeding is so institutional that if you don't speed you can be the victim of road rage.

Again the institutional dangerous, illegal driving is ACTUALLY harming people and 99% of drivers are doing it.

Would you rather get hit by a 30 pound bike going 10 miles and hour or a 4000 car going 30 miles an hour? Don't think too hard because the NYPD is making the choice for you.

m015094

Might as well just charge drivers a $200 fee (or whatever the speeding fine is) to cross the park since it seems like every car cannot keep it under 25.

blindmalice

Hey, the Central Park NYPD needs to meet thier quotas too. Why go after hard to stop vehicles (not to mention criminals) when the low hanging fruit of bicyclists is thiers for the ticketing.

John Sullivan

Awww, I thought I was going to get to see law breaking bikers getting tickets! I get the point about selective enforcement but people in cars breaking the law is just boring. No one cares, especially the NYPD who have important quotas to meet and specific people to ticket so they learn how to respect the law while supporting a new revenue stream.

IvoryJive

I think this is compelling. It is documentation of one driver after another breaking the law with no consequences, on the exact same road where the NYPD is cracking down on another different user group for a specific, different infraction - video evidence of selective enforcement happening.

Benjamin Lim

There's a big difference in the odds of getting killed when hit by a car going 25mph vs a car going 35mph.

jza

some bike posts are interesting, but this is seriously stretching it. omg, cars doing 35 mph!!!

lightstays

tragically archaic sewer of a democracy

hotstepper

that's the spirit!

Sinchy

Wow that is officially the most boring video ever posted on Gothamist.

TheOtherBob

I was actually surprised how slow the cars were going. Yeah, they were all speeding -- but most were within about 10mph. There were a couple of 35mph+ drivers, but I was expecting to see at least one or two rocking along at 45 or 50.

Fronko

It's comforting to know that if I'm hit by a car while I'm jogging, it will only be at 10 mph over the speed limit instead of 15 or 20 mph over.

TheOtherBob

Everybody's gotta be a queen about this sort of thing...

hellx

Yeah, but isn't it kind of sad that drivers have conditioned us to consider exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles as acceptable? In a 25 mph zone that's 40% faster than the speed limit.

TheOtherBob

Not really -- I think if you ever got outside of Manhattan you'd find that's pretty normal everywhere, and that the speed limits are adjusted accordingly.

random transplant

The Park
The Park
The Park is a Highway

We don't need no Park Let the mothers burn their gas

Burn Gas Mother fuckers
Burn

...sounded better set to bloodhound gang. Trust me.