Bike Lanes Meet Competition from Pedestrians

In the News–August 19, 2013–Thanks to Jym Dyer for sending this along.

In a recent article from AMNY, journalist Sheila Anne Feeney documents the increasing frustration among cyclists that almost every single other person in New York is now using bike lanes too. She writes:

“The bike lanes have become highways for pedestrians — especially in midtown,” said Marc Climaco, who started a blog, #GetOffMyBikeLane on July 26 that attracted 4,000 visitors in its first week. “The infrastructure we have is not sufficient” for both pedestrians and cyclists, said Climaco, a digital communications specialist for a human rights group.”

Pedestrians and delivery men are using the lanes because the sidewalks are too congested. Forget about ticketing any of the scofflaws however–the NY Police Department doesn’t even return Feeney’s calls for comment.

She writes: “Bikers who long dreamed of having their own super highways now find their trips impeded by construction workers guiding over-burdened hand trucks, Garment Center workers rolling clothing racks, people pushing shopping carts and trailing suitcases, wheelchair operators, and of course, oodles and oodles of purposefully striding pedestrians seeking their own obstacle-free commuting  lanes.”

If you’re concerned about whom to vote for in the upcoming Mayoral election, consider some of the candidates’ statements regarding bikes lanes. Summarizes Feeney:

Joseph J. Lhota told _The_New_York_Times_in February that he “could see” removing lanes he deemed problematic; Anthony Weiner has said he was joking about holding a ribbon cutting to tear out bike lanes; and John Liu has said bike lanes are suited for Manhattan and inappropriate in some outerborough neighborhoods. But the lanes are just one element in NYC’s streets safer. Transportation Alternatives recently asked all the mayoral candidates if they would commit to a plan to eliminate traffic deaths in NYC. Sal Albanese, Bill de Blasio, Liu and Weiner all said yes, with de Blasio later issuing his own plan to reduce traffic fatalities to zero within 10 years which included “adding dedicated bicycle infrastructure to create a safe space for New Yorkers on bikes,” which presumably means more bike lanes.

For the rest of the article, please go to their site.  

 

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