I hate to add to Gothamist's lame cycling topic that's constantly used only to generate page views- But there's only two groups who should be speeding around covered in Lycra- Lance Armstrong and Assholes. Unless you're racing in the Tour De France those ridiculous outfits are completely unnecessary. Trust me- Nobody wants to see your shiny ass or your dumbass numbered racing shirts.

Anything other than complete free-reign over every street will not suffice for the cyclists. They are, afterall, special and deserve nothing but a pass to do whatever they please, whenever and wherever. We are all merely props in their cyclist universe.

Unfortunately, douche bags come in all forms: as pedestrians, bikers, and motorists. C'mon people, share the road! Let's all be a little bit more aware of where we are walking, biking, and driving. Let's not all be in a rush to die crossing the street during our commute to work, because that's probably not the most notable or news worthy way to die. And above all, didn't our mothers teach us a little bit about common courtesy? I'm a biker that has taken the train about 3 times this year, and I promise you that stopping for pedestrians doesn't hurt anyone. In fact, most times, they will actually thank you. We live in a city of 8 million lovely, huggable people, let's embrace that. 

Bikers need to learn how to share the park.  It is not there only for bikers who speed through with no brakes.  The vast majority of people using the park are not speed bikers, remember that.  They push people out of their way like they own the place.  If they want to race they should get their own race course and not unilaterally take over the public parks.

Fuck all you cyclists.  Seriously.  Prospect Park is not a gigantic velodrome, your Grand Tour fantasies notwithstanding.  The loop was designed for carriages, not bicycles; visibility was deliberately limited to enforce the illusion of being outside the city.  If there is one place in the entire borough where pedestrians are entitled to have their "heads up their asses," it's the park.  The fact is that, as laid out, ingress to the interior of the park requires crossing lanes occupied by hostile, laughably self-serious, and difficult-to-see dorks riding around in circles.  I wait; I hold my kids' hands and make them wait.  Can't recall a single time when a cyclist slowed to allow us to cross, whether we were at a marked crossing, with the light in our favor, or not.  Bicyclists assume an affirmative responsibility by climbing aboard what is legally defined as a vehicle, sure, but that doesn't even begin to touch the levels of discourtesy and the sense of entitlement that would lead *anyone* to seriously think that the most important use of a public space in one of the  most densely populated urban areas in the country is to allow high-speed cosplay.  Fuck you, cyclists.  One day one of you will piss me off and I'll shove your helmet right up your ass.  

you seem pretty hostile, is that how you talk to your child when he/she pisses you off? the same can be said about motorists so the best defense is to be vigilant.

No.  The motorists stop and follow lights.  It's awful that cars are permitted in the park, but I've never seen one fail to follow lights and signs, or for the motorist to act like a competitor at Le Mans. I'm on that loop frequently, as is harfunderbunk, so I actually know what I'm posting about.

If you had even a glancing familiarity with the park loop, you'd have mentioned it.  Why are you commenting, beyond having popped a sanctimony boner?

"No.  The motorists stop and follow lights."
-really? tell that to all the victims families. there is about 4 so far this week. i don't give a shit about this park and don't bother with it. but the bottom line is cars are a lot more dangerous than bikes.
" I've never seen one fail to follow lights and signs, or for the motorist to act like a competitor at Le Mans."
-maybe open your eyes because i see it every freaking day. in fact ask the family of Lepoldo Hernandez if people speed. people in this city are in too much of a hurry when behind the wheel, and yes handlebars too.

Sorry, FAR MORE bikes run red lights than cars.

Far more cars kill than bikes. Don't be sorry, be right.

and far more pedestrians run /  walk red lights. What is the point.

If the park were closed to car traffic, the loop could be restructured to have fewer straightaways and to have speed bumps designs for bicycles.

The skilled speeding cyclists that piss people off with their constant
douche-baggery probably aren't the ones hitting people, but they are the
ones scaring pedestrians into anti-bike lane hostility, and when
someone does get hit, these self-entitled (yet skilled and for the most
part cautious) are the image that comes to mind. This is just as harmful
as actually hitting someone, and as a cyclist, I sometimes feel like we
don't represent and support each other enough as a community.

Stop jogging in the bike lanes

occupy bike lanes

This post is a mess. The headline implies that the same cyclist has now hit two pedestrians. The story cannot decide if a pedestrian was hit at all, or if a cyclist just fell down and went boom. If I were responsible for posting this story, I would determine what actually occurred before publication. I mean 'another cyclist strikes pedestrian' is a story, 'some guy fell off his bike,' is certainly not.

Let me preface this by saying that I frequently cycle through Prospect Park on my way around Brooklyn. I am courteous and mindful of all others on the roadway - bikers, joggers, strollers, and otherwise.

Unfortunately, there is a faction of cyclists in Prospect Park who expect all pedestrians to magically make way for them as they speed around the loop, and belligerently scream at those who don't.

Accidents happen, of course, and I don't think people would be as upset over this whole issue if not for the prevailing bad attitude of this "spandex crew" who think that the roadway is their own personal racetrack.

Jerks will be jerks, on foot, in cars, or on bikes. There's not much anybody can do to change that. More signage might help warn pedestrians of the danger, I guess. Maybe something like "Danger: Douchebags on Bicycles"?

Sad, but true

I was afraid to click this story, because I've become fed up with the comments to most of the stories here at Gothamist (I've decreased my visits here altogether). There are too many offensive trolls. But, wow, thanks for being rational along with a few others above.

I really wish Gothamist would implement a commenter system something like Gawker's where people can get starred, banned and liked (you would get a star). I should expect comments like these, not be thankful for them.

What a surprise, seeing people roundly blame the pedestrian, snarking about looking both ways, adding to an only-on-Gothamist notion that every person who isn't on a bike in Prospect Park is selfish and the sole cause of crashes.  Hey, the pedestrian only suffered a broken hand (and he's already in his 60s, so who gives a fuck, amirite?), and the cyclist was doubtlessly not 'speeding' since all cyclists do solemnly swear that their quads don't even *permit* them to get above 18 mph, they know by the feel of the wind on their faces that they *couldn't* be going above 15, and hey, when you hit a dumbass and you're only going 11 mph, it doesn't even hurt!

Over the past few years, I've used the park drive several times a week, to jog, and never - quite literally never - am not in the innermost lane.  I have the speed of a bucket of tar.  However, I do pass slower joggers, walkers, and knots of nannies and parents pushing strollers on the right, and manage to stay in the lane or a foot into the second lane.  Since probably the spring of 2010, I have not gone for a run on the drive without witnessing a biker of some stripe - Lululemon-wearing bratty young women, groups of Hasidic kids, the rare cyclist in technical gear - in the INNERMOST lane.  It happens all throughout the day, always.  Those people who who look like they've been in a velodrome are those least likely to do this, but it definitely happens, too.

Worse, people coming in around Ocean Parkway, not on bikes, are just totally fucked.  I have never, not once, seen a cyclist stop for the lights or even slow down as they come down the hill.  For any pedestrian who doesn't have the good fortune to enter right around Grand Army, it's a fucking game of Frogger.

The city *would* be a better place for all of us with zero car traffic in parks, expanded bike lanes, and incentives for more walking and yes, biking, to jobs and for errands.  But the conversation here about stupid pedestrians jumping out and hurting themselves via the innocent cyclist as catalyst is so fucked up and dishonest.  The way Gothamist writers present the park loop isn't an accurate portrayal.