Local politicians have begun to float proposals to respond to outrage over the death of a pedestrian who was hit by a bicyclist last week. Jill Tarlov died today after a bicyclist slammed into her in the park on Friday around West 63rd street. Last month, a jogger also died after being hit by a bicyclist.
Council member Mark Levine, who represents the Northern part of the Upper West Side as well as Morningside Heights, said he wants to lower the speed limit in the park. He didn’t specify how low it should go — it’s now 25 miles per hour. He reiterated his call to ban cars from the park altogether.
“In light of the tragic death of Jill Tarlov, who was killed by a reckless bicyclist believed to be traveling at an excessive speed, I’m calling for a reduction of the speed limit in NYC parks for both motor vehicles and bicycles. The City has the authority to do this without State approval under the already enacted Slow Zones program. Of course, a lower speed limit will have no impact unless it is strictly enforced and I look forward to coordinating with Parks and the NYPD to make sure they continue to step up their efforts in this regard. I also want to emphasize that motor vehicles pose a far more deadly threat to pedestrians in parks than bicycles and that is why I have repeatedly called for Central Park to be made car-free year round. These measures will help ensure that everyone can enjoy our parks safely.”
At a meeting of the 20th precinct community council on Monday night, several community members spoke out in favor of more aggressive enforcement of bicycling laws. One man said that bicyclists consistently run the red light at 83rd street and Riverside Drive in front of his building, and that one slammed into a dog there and never stopped. Another audience member complained that local politicians including Council member Helen Rosenthal and Borough President Gale Brewer are too cozy with bicycling advocates to push for better enforcement. “Our elected officials appear to be under their thumb.”
Jason Harding, a staff member for Rosenthal, said she was working on proposals to make the streets safer. He said her office is considering a proposal to make bicyclists add license plates, although he did not expand on how that would work. “That’s one thing we’re looking at,” he said.
We’ve reached out to Rosenthal’s office for more info and will update if we hear more. Captain Michael Falcon of the 20th precinct said at the meeting that officers do not chase law-breaking bicyclists on city streets because a high-speed chase could imperil pedestrians in the area. A license plate could potentially make identifying the bicyclists easier. Bicycle licenses in the past have been a non-starter, however.
Update: Rosenthal’s spokesperson says “The idea was floated, but we’re not pursuing it at the moment.”
Polly Trottenberg, the city’s DOT commissioner told reporters that the city does need to police Central Park more aggressively, according to Capital NY. “Bicycling enforcement is something we’re still learning how to do it well,” she continued. “And obviously this terrible tragedy in the park will give us a chance to do an even better job in the future.”
Some intersections could also be re-engineered:
“We had done some redesigns in both Central Park and Prospect Park a couple of years ago, where we actually widened the cycling and pedestrian lanes and narrowed the driving lanes,” said Trottenberg. “I think there’s still an area of crosswalks where perhaps we’re going to go back and see if there’s something we can do to make it even more delineated, perhaps slow down the traffic even further.”
As we noted earlier, enforcement of bicycle laws tends to last for a brief period after a high-profile collision and then seems to dissipate.
Mark Levine is so misguided. In fact, bikes pose a far greater threat to pedestrians in Central Park than cars – that’s what the numbers show. Regular streets are a different story, but with respect to the parks, Councilmember Levine is either ignorant or lying. Unfortunate.
Both
How about making the killing of a pedestrian an actual crime with mandatory jail time? How do you explain that breaking a law with deadly results is not a crime?
The “elected officials” are a bunch of useless morons.
Yes ban cars in the park.
Lower the bike speed limit to 12 mph in cp.
Require bike licences plates.
And please enforce the law. The bikers are out of control.
If you lower the speed limit to 12 mph, as suggested by Dave, you are eliminating a very healthy mode of exercise for a significant amount of Manhattanites who don’t want to pay $90/month to join a gym and be stuck inside in a smelly, crowded room. There is no other place for cyclists to train outdoors safely in Manhattan. The west side bike path is nice for commuting, but far too narrow and congested for consistent training. Pedestrians and joggers even walk/run on the paths that are specifically designated for bikes while there is a parallel path that is only intended for pedestrians and joggers. If you take away the Central Park loop, that leaves no other reasonable options within the city for training/exercise (as opposed to a slow joy ride), and we don’t all have time to go over the bridge out to NJ for training, as others have suggested.
The Central Park crosswalks should be redesigned so pedestrians are more conscious that they are crossing an active bike path (enough that they notice even if they’re engrossed in their smart phones), and cyclists should be ticketed if they run a red light when a pedestrian is trying to cross (not ticketed when there are no pedestrians anywhere in sight, especially on the northern end of the park).
Cyclists and pedestrians are both at fault, and to take away the ability to train in Central Park on a bike (by halving the speed limit, ticketing at EVERY red light–pedestrians present or no, or by adding speed bumps) is not fair to the rest of the conscientious cyclists who do actually slow down when pedestrians have the right of way or are just totally oblivious.
Here’s the solution:
Require all bicyclists to dress as Elmo, Spiderman, or some other cartoon character like the ones who populate Times Square.
We *know* how scrupulously the NYPD pays attention to those characters. If all bicyclists were dressed that way as well, the NYPD will pay attention to them too.
I wonder why the name of the bicyclist who killed Tarlov isn’t mentioned. White guy? How is what he did different from the actions of the cabbie described here in a different article (on DNA NY):
“(U)nder a new law enacted as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, the taxi driver, MD Hossain, 29, became the first motorist in city history to be charged with two new vehicular offenses — failure to yield to a pedestrian resulting in injury or death and failure to exercise due care” ?
Sosie – It wasn’t a ‘white guy’, not that it should matter. And in general, we should probably let the investigation occur before we talk about throwing the guy in jail, just because he’s a cyclist. 25mph is the speed limit in CP, but you don’t have to be going that fast to cause a lot of damage to someone. Last time I checked he hadn’t been charged, and wasn’t clear if she was obeying the laws (walking against red, etc). I wouldn’t rush to judgement in either direction, which most people here posting have done. Pedestrians also do have some responsibility to show some level of awareness of when crossing roads. We’ll find out once Police can finish investigating.
I jumped to conclusions. Still not sure why the cabbie’s actions are different. We’ll see if the cyclist is charged with anything.
‘white guy’? Letting a bit of bigotry show there perhaps? In fact, the victim was white & the cyclist is black. ‘Jumping to conclusions’ without concern for or checking actual facts is a hallmark of bigotry. Keep that in mind.
Well, those laws just apply to operators of “motor vehicles,” so that’s why he wouldn’t be charged in the same way.
Based on what we’ve all heard about this incident, there were certain deliberate bad decisions on the cyclist’s part that created this sequence of events, so maybe that’s where a criminal charge might develop. Dunno.
Actually, with a very few exceptions, bicyclists are required to obey all the same traffic laws as operators of motor vehicles.
They should allow cars in the park at 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM on weekdays for HOV’s but then stop them at all other times. Honestly, I am very surprised there aren’t more vehicle accidents within the park when you combine horse carriages, cyclists, skate boarders, roller bladers, runners, walkers, dogs, all on the same roadway.
There should be speed bumps at every pedestrian intersection with larger marked cross-ways and better posted signs.
The speed bumps would be a great place to start.
I appreciate the comment about Riverside and 83rd – bikes routinely race down the hill on Riverside in the low-mid 80s and run through all of the lights with no regard for pedestrians legally crossing the street with the light.
I agree that there should be stricter enforcement of bike laws. Some of the bicyclists think that they’re on a closed track–they go way too fast, yell at pedestrians instead of stopping or yielding, and generally seem to think that they own the park. As a runner, I’m often scared and annoyed by bicyclists who regularly ride in the running lane.
I also agree about the overstatement of the problem of cars in the park. They have been there for years and are less of a problem than the bikes. Cars should be able to drive through the park during on weekdays, especially during rush hour.
Please explain why any private car should be allowed to drive on the loop road through the park. I’m curious for the rationale.
Can’t edit my comment so I’ll just reply to myself. :). I’d like to see the loop drives free of cars at all times. Frederick Law Olmsted obviously didn’t design this beloved urban treasure for black cars and taxis to push people to the side and spew carbon monoxide in. I’d set a 15 mph speed limit on the 72nd Street transverse and below, perhaps with an exception for early morning cycling training? That way 4 minute mile road runners and casual cyclists can still enjoy. And I appreciate Polly Trottenberg’s thoughts that safe pedestrian crossings are clearly needed.
I’m a runner too, and actually dimed out a pack of clueless, irritating tourists cycling the wrong way up the runners lane earlier this summer. They were rude to me when I asked them to cycle the other way (or not in the runners lane!), I looked for a CP cop car, he was polite about the request, and I was pretty, pretty glad to see them pulled over for tickets later. Courtesy and consideration are just must-haves in the park.
Ok – I’ll bite. While I think the net positive of eliminating cars outweighs the negative, they do provide calming for the road. It’s counterintuitive, but everyone behaves better when the cars are in there, and pedestrian accidents decline. That being said, if we eliminated cars in the park, that would free the police from being posted up at the entrances checking for HOV, and they could actually patrol the loop, maybe on bikes.
I also want to push back on the idea that only tourist-heavy areas deserve focus. We all know that the West Drive crosswalks at 90th and 79th are crazy due to the cyclists racing downhill and 86th is rough because cyclists don’t want to stop on an uphill grade. Most of the people commenting here are probably more concerned about crossing safely at places like those – I know I am.
It doesn’t matter what the rules/laws are if they aren’t going to be enforced. How about just enforce the ones we have now!? I am happy to be responsible for myself as a pedestrian if cyclists, in and out of the park, would simply stop at their red lights and stay off the sidewalks.
I’m with you, Carol.
Also – cyclists will not stop at lights or stay off the sidewalks unless they are forced to do so. All this talk of new laws just seems like a pitiful way to attempt to look like someone is doing something when they aren’t really doing anything at all. We need substance and not appearances. They must know we aren’t that stupid, but I guess they hope we are too busy and will get distracted amidst the smoke from the fire of manipulation.
i am a central park cyclist (as well as a runner and tennis player) and have to admit that even though i have respect for other non-cyclists in the park as i ride around, i find myself going very fast, and not wanting to stop at red lights
i think that bicyclists should be required to get license plates
however, since many of the bicyclists in central park are “serious” riders – they are the ones with biking clothes, often in groups, and going very fast, the problem will not go away until bikes are banned from the park. the only real compromise solution is for the bicyclists to have their own time to go as fast as they want, say from 6 am to 8 am on weekends, and then be banned after that
it is impossible to police the bicyclists. there are too many of them, and they will not slow down. the serious ones are there to train, and ride as if they were in the country. if they cannot do this, they will go away. hope this helps
I agree with you Larry. There should be some accommodation that prioritizes training cyclists – maybe every morning. It would require some compromise on the part of other users, but it’s not fundamentally unreasonable if racing cyclists complied with the letter of the law for the rest of the day.
If you are training go to a track! Central Park is to an appropriate training ground for high speed cycling.
Where is this track you speak of? I’d love for there to be a track for only cyclists in Manhattan. I’d be all for building an elevated bike track over the Central Park loop, but I doubt the city would ever spend the money on it.
Bicyclists and pedestrians are never going to wait out the green and red lights in the park. it is counterintuitive to wait for 30 seconds when there is no one around.
I think a flashing yellow where the pedestrians always have the right away would make the most sense and have it heavily enforced that a cyclist gets ticketed if he goes through when a pedestrian is waiting. The pedestrian always has the right a way. The way it is set up now in a non-car hours is a nonsensical for everyone and leads to the current system where no pedestrian pays attention to the walk/no walk and cyclists run through whether it is green or red. Current set up is stupid and dangerous
High Speed cycling is a specilized sport. Expensive bikes and gear. If there isn’t a track, Cycling clubs should have one built. High Speed cycling does not belong in the Park or on the walk way along the Hudson.
Interesting suggestion. Nevertheless I think high speed cyclists should be forced to go to a dedicated track. Allowing them to go as fast as they want fro m 6am to 8am would effectively ban Other humans from the park and would no doubt put other cyclists at risk.
I am disappointed to see so much rush to judgment on this case, here and elsewhere. Biases clearly show up without true rationale. No one, except maybe the police if they have his GPS device and it is not damaged, know whether he was traveling at an excessive speed, which is by definition greater than 25mph. Cyclists often look like they are traveling faster than they really are. Without a speed gun or his cycle computer (GPS), we can’t actually say whether he was speeding. And the fact that the woman died, which is very very sad and unfortunate, is not necessarily related to the speed the cyclist was traveling, it was related to the impact of her head on the pavement, which, based on the laws of physics, would not change in impact velocity with a change in collision impact speed. While the collision caused her to fall, the collision could have happened at 12 mph as the speed limit suggested above with the same results. If the woman stepped out in front of the cyclist, without looking, and the cyclist had the green light, it doesn’t matter how fast the rider was going. The argument there, for enforcement, would be for enforcement against blatant jaywalking, which would have prevented the issue even more than enforcement of speed limits. However, if the rider had a red light, that is a very different story. Without knowing the facts, who are we to judge? Especially since judges are supposed to be unbiased, and judging by the responses here, unbiased we are not.
You’re disappointed at the comments. I’m s
Disappointed that a woman is dead. The cyclist should be charged and a trial should be held.
We are all disappointed that a woman is dead. But that doesn’t mean that, just because someone died, someone else must be at fault.
If a cancer patient dies because her oncologist wasn’t physically able to remove all of her tumors, should the oncologist be charged with murder?
I am not advocating the innocence of the cyclist. I am advocating the guilt of our rush to judgement based on bias.
Someone is at fault. She didn’t die of cancer. She was hit by a cyclist. He should be charged and a trial should be help. If he has defenses, he can raise them.
You are right. Someone is at fault. I don’t believe in pure accidents in these cases. But rushing to judge is not fair. Charges are only to be brought against someone if there is sufficient evidence to charge. I’m sorry, but your emotions are not evidence, nor is your bias.
Let the investigators do their work. If it turns out he is guilty, hang the bastard. If it turns out he isn’t, let the poor guy get on with his life.
Josh makes a very good point.
Clearly what we need to do is require all pedestrians to wear helmets. That way, when run down by one of the entitled bicyclists (even at a paltry 12 mph), the intrusive pedestrian will not die because of impact with the ground.
Josh, I think many of us are speaking from years of experience as New Yorkers and Central Park users, and applying our experiences to this situation. I think we’ve all been threatened by irresponsible cyclists, tucked in and going way too fast through red lights in the Park. Just as Jill Tarlov was, we’ve been yelled at and bullied by cyclists to get out of the way when we have the “walk” sign.
All of this situation is very consistent with our experience as pedestrians, and many of us are extra disinclined to blame the victim. In a weird way, it’s like people are finally listening to what we’ve been saying for years.
Jeremy, What you are saying basically is going along with exactly what I am saying. I have had many of those same experiences, and I fully agree that there are MANY cyclists in Central Park that straight up flout the laws and are extremely rude about it. I agree with that 100%. But applying those experiences to making facts out of assumptions in this case is, by definition, bias. Because we do not know the facts of this particular case, we cannot make a determination about this particular case.
I am a pedestrian in the UWS and the park. I also ride a bike both for fun and commuting, and drive a car (mostly on weekends).
As a pedestrian and a cyclist, I have had many run-ins with racers doing “time trials” in the park. But we are all rushing to judgement based on the fact that: 1) this man had a $4000 bike (which is ENTRY LEVEL for carbon fiber bikes) and 2) he was wearing lycra (spandex).
What is the difference here, the way people are passing judgement without facts to back them up, and passing judgement on someone because of the color of their skin?
As a cyclist, I have had many people walk right in front of me, when I have the right of way, with no regard for me. I also have, as a pedestrian, pulled random people back onto the curb as they mindlessly started to step out into oncoming traffic (about to get hit by an oncoming vehicle) while looking down at their phone or off into never-never land.
I can’t say that the cyclist was at fault. I also can’t say that he wasn’t. I don’t know, and I accept the fact that I do not know, because I wasn’t there. It is not fair for me to pass judgement on someone because someone who looked like him in some way (skin color, manner of dress, choice of locomotion) wronged me in the past.
Well, you’re not being completely fair. The duty of an operator (bicycle, car, whatever) in situations that present the way that this one did is to ride in a way that’s safe for the environment. If a driver plowed through a mid-block street hockey game, or turned into a bunch of pedestrians crossing against the light in Times Square just because he had an arrow, it wouldn’t excuse that behavior. Central Park in that location is very consistent with those examples.
I’ll let other people defend their own point of view, but from where I sit, there was clearly some level of disregard for pedestrians by the cyclist that is even more important than the particular orientation of the lights at that time (which we have no reason to believe favored the cyclist).
It’s bonkers down there, which means that you don’t just adjust your line, but your speed as well.
I am not disagreeing with you that cyclists have a duty to try to avoid accidents. All I am saying is we are trying this guy in the press without any actual knowledge of what happened at that moment. It is a sad situation, and I wish it never happened. I am just not ready to say this guy is guilty of homicide without knowing the facts. But looking at almost every comment here, there is glaring bias in almost every one. If NYPD CIS determines charges are warranted, I’m all for his prosecution. If they determine that charges are not warranted, I’m all for letting it go.
There are, without a doubt, cyclists who are major safety issues. Last summer, I harassed a middle aged cyclist on the west side green way after he screamed at pedestrians in the crosswalk. I followed him for his entire ride (I was riding myself) and told him I would be the first person to be called as a witness if he injured anyone with his poor riding. I don’t condone that type of riding at all. But I am not convinced, based on the articles in the Post, that he actually was. With the blood spot photo showing the blood spot right next to the curb, it is 100% conceivable that she stepped out in front of him, in a single step off the curb, without him expecting her to. They said he hollered at her, but was it her or the pack of potentially jaywalking pedestrians he went around. Swerving around and behind pedestrians is a logical reaction to their presence. Coming to a stop is not the only reasonable action. The only near pedestrian accidents I ever had while riding were when a guy stepped out into the street from between two buses mid-block and when a jaywalker started crossing 2nd avenue, I went to swing behind her, then she doubled back right into my path. I managed to brake in both cases, but was inches away from contact. In both cases,I was going well under the speed limit, and could not have been argued that I was going too fast for the conditions, but if I was a fraction slower on my reaction time, or my brake pads were any more worn than they were, the same could have happened in those situations. Any impact can result in a fall. Any fall can result in head trauma and/or death. It is simple -as diligent as a rider is, or a driver for that matter, it is not possible to prevent 100% of incidents outside of just not riding or just not driving. Same thing from a pedestrian perspective. I you can be as diligent as possible, and still get hit.
I agree completely. An operators responsibility to yield does not evaporate because they “have the light”. And you are expected to operate your vehicle/bike in a manor that allows you to yield should you need to. Of course someone darting out in front of you leaving no time to react can be unavoidable in many cases. Circumstances matter. The stories I’ve seen say the cyclist swerved to avoid other pedestrians and then struck the victim. Sounds to me like excessive speed and failure to yield. Unless of course they all jumped out so quickly he did not see them in advance or had no time to apply his brakes. But I wasn’t there.
I agree with most of your comments. The honest solution is to both enforce bikers who don’t use reasonable care in avoiding pedestrians and more signage/reminders for pedestrians they have to pay more caution/awareness when walking across a road. Both sides could give a little, instead it will just be a hammer dropping only on cyclists, and all of them will be painted with same brush. I think you do following:
*CP Cycling Hours – leave early morning time for cyclists to be able to actually workout (6Am-8AM?), but they still can’t go through Reds with pedestrians present, but if none present they can continue. Limit cycling in afternoon/evening when CP just too crowded.
*IMprove pedestrian signage – warn/remind them, although CP a public park, it also has a roadway, they have to exercise awareness when crossing street, not walk in the middle of road, and use walkways. The roadway is a very small % of CP, just asking a little due care here.
*Enforcement – for those cycles who operate dangerously, have consistent ticketing practices. Not just overly strict enforcement of traffic laws for a 2 week period, and then zero enforcement.
All good points.
As an Upper West Side resident I live in the midst of traffic minefields – cars and bikes (now add the powered bikes used by delivery guys) on the street (bikes on the sidewalks!) and bikers in the parks. My building fronts the intersection of 97th Street and West End Avenue and I see chaos all day long in the streets all around me. I am a survivor of being hit by an SUV going through a red light at Broadway and 97th Street in 2007; I live with the physical losses that impact caused me. It has all gotten much worse since then. I am in Riverside Park several times a day to walk my dog but now I’ve stopped going to the Hudson River in fear of the speeding bikers. Bikes should be registered and plated like all other vehicles and be required to have a bell on the handle bar. Bikers should use them. Screaming “get out of the way” is hardly an effective method to warn pedestrians although a shout “to your right” and “to you left” by some responsible bikers has been a help – sadly, I’ve only heard that about twice this year.
Bikers need to be educated about the Rules of the Road for all vehicles anywhere. They must let pedestrians know with a standard warning by a bell or horn that they are immediately behind. Sorry, guys and gals, if you think bells on the handle bars impairs your image as rugged athletes at the Tour de France or Manhattan. Pedestrians walk without helmets or rear-view mirrors. We are in much danger from bikers and they are also in danger from powered vehicles and other bikers.
It is only logic and common sense that we now teach children how to use their bicycles beyond the mere mechanics of how to ride them. The care we take – or used to take – with driver education should be extended to bicycle education for the young and reinforced for the adult biker. There should be strict penalties for violations of any and all traffic rules written specifically for bikes as there are for powered vehicles. WE ARE NOT A BICYCLE CULTURE. Despite what the NYC Department of Transportation and the organization Transportation Alternatives tell us, encouraging bicycle riding without concomitant rules, laws, enforcement and penalties is inviting more of the same as Jill Tarlov got from crossing a street in Central Park. I walk my own neighborhood and parks in fear of all powered vehicles and of bicycles. What a lousy way to live.
NY law certainly should be enforced with vigilance in CP, for both cyclists AND pedestrians. At present, enforcement is both lax and inconsistent.
However, it is simply incorrect to think that all accidents involving bikes and pedestrians are the fault of the cyclist in every case. Here’s a thoughtful analysis:
https://chasingwheels.blogspot.com/2011/02/46-lights-of-central-park.html
Accidents can occur for a number of reasons – cyclists running red lights is just one of those reasons. Consequently, ticketing cyclists for running red lights, even if it were 100% effective at preventing that particular infraction in the future, will hardly solve the problem of bike/pedestrian collisions.
Since that video was shot, the DOT has worked with the cycling community to retime the lights so they would generally be green if a rider was going at a typical pace. I don’t think it accounts for the real speed racers, but that’s probably a good thing.
High speed cycling does not belong in Central Park.
It is almost impossible for pedestrians to protect themselves from the speed demons who insist that Central Park belongs to them and pedestrians just need to accept that. High Speed cyclists need to go to a dedicated track and the City should force them to do so.
High Speed cycling should not be permitted in Central Park. If cyclist want to ride high speed they should to to a dedicated track. A public park is inappropriate for such an activity. That goes for the Hudson River Path as well.
It is one thing for cyclist to accept the dangers of their sport, it is quite another for them to put others at risk for
their enjoyment.
I certainly hope that the CITY COUNCIL will take steps to make this happen. For too long cyclists have run the debate. Pedestrians should not be treated as second class citizens. Save the humans.
I would agree. CP is not a racetrack.
Would we allow cars to race there?
Maybe at an official event where the road is closed to anyone but the racers.
There was plans for an official bike race track in Bklyn (a something…drome) .
Many bicyclists also ignore the laws prohibiting bicycling on the sidewalks. I frequently see parents riding their bicycle on the sidewalk followed by their children. Not only are they violating the law but they are teaching their children to do the same.
Perhaps some classroom lectures on this law would teach the children about safety which might then influence the parents. Nothing like a kid looking at you saying “Daddy, I was taught we shouldn’t do this.”
This terrible tragedy obliges us to search deeply for causes and solutions. The rapidly ascending entitled bike culture has been fueled by TA top officials who during Bloomberg began and now continue to hold positions within DOT itself. They have Streetsblog that vilifies whoever speaks the truth about this and a PAC that endorses and now seems to exert undue influence over our city’s elected officials. It seems obvious that if the city bans cars in CP that speeding bikers would pose an even greater threat to pedestrians and runners. A couple of days ago, a motorized bike sped down the Columbus Ave bike lane, nearly hitting several of us crossing with the light on 97th St and Columbus Ave. They’ve become a menace. City officials and departments need to clean house so they can better tend to the public’s safety.
There’s also an ‘entitled’ pedestrian culture in Manhattan which believes that nothing is ever the fault of the pedestrian. As a Citibike rider who uses it to commute to and from work and obeys all traffic laws I can’t count the number of times I’ve encountered pedestrians using earbuds or talking on cellphones who step into the street without so much as a glance in either direction. I ride solely in the bike lanes which many pedestrians use them as waiting areas until there is no vehicular traffic. Or they decide to use bike lanes as alternate sidewalks to avoid crowded sidewalks in midtown. Pedestrian accidents in NYC are not only caused by reckless cyclists. Pedestrian ‘entitlement’ is also a factor to consider.
There is an overall attitude of entitlement prevalent in our City today. Try holding a door for someone — chances are (in my experience) he or she will just walk through it without any suggestion of a “thank you”.
Indeed, in my experience, many (most?) people won’t even hold a door, to a store, building, etc., for a person entering behind them. “I’m through, I’m all that counts, you’re on your own” is the air. (When I’m that following person, I usually say “Thanks anyway” once I’m in.)
We’ve discussed this fundamental “to heck with anyone but me” rudeness here on the Rag with respect to cyclists, drivers, pedestrians (whether crossing against the light or just walking mindlessly down the sidewalk connected to an electronic device, expecting everyone else to dodge out of the way), even dog owners who “forget” to clean up after their pets.
And who hasn’t followed someone through a subway door only to collide with that person, who has decided that, once through, he or she is entitled to stand in front of the door?
We can complain all we want. We can pass laws or complain about the NYPD’s failure to enforce the existing ones. Yes, physical intrusions will help — left turn lanes on West End Avenue, speed bumps on the Central Park roads.
But fixing any one of these is like patching one hole in a breaking dam. With the attitude of entitlement, the arrogance of “me and only me”, that defines this City today, making any one of these fixes will only leave the attitude to show itself in a different setting.
I have lived in this City my entire life (I was born when Harry Truman was president, for perspective), and am really coming to hate it because of the despicable people who now define it. It wasn’t always so.
Cato –
I couldn’t have summed it up any better. I’m with you 100%.
In fact, the ridiculous behavior of many subway riders is one of the main reasons I stopped taking the subway and started using Citibike. 🙂 I agree completely with your comment, there is plenty of room for improvement on all parts. My big frustration with the Vision Zero campaign is what appears to be a total lack of recognition that pedestrians have responsibilities too. I have yet to see so much as a PSA campaign advising pedestrians to obey traffic signals and be aware of what’s going on around them. From subways to sidewalks & street crossing personal headphone use is a public nuisance that grows worse daily. Not to mention all the damage people are doing to their ears. How about ads on bus sides? Or signs at major intersections advising pedestrians to look before walking. Many cities have such warnings painted right on the street at major intersections. We all need to be responsible.
I was just about to write the same reply. Well, similar. Herein lies the issue – everyone is entitled and anyone who feels a different entitlement is wrong.
Drivers, Cyclist, and Pedestrians should be no more entitled than the other. We are all entitled to safety, but first, we all have to admit that we have to all do our own part for this to happen. We can’t expect everyone else to change, but not me.
But Cato, I’ll hold the door for you – and will say thank you if you do the same for me.
“Call me the next time you see a driver or cyclist mowed down by a pedestrian.”
A cyclist who crashes into a pedestrian can be just as badly hurt as the pedestrian regardless of whose fault it is. What people here are talking about is trying to save all from unnecessary injury or death. Do you not recognize that pedestrians also have an obligation to act responsibly in that regard?
Call me the next time you see a driver or cyclist mowed down by a pedestrian.
You’ve got a deal, josh.
I know people want to convict/sentence the cyclist w/o any real details on the circumstances, but the following stats from Bloomberg article today:
1) Cyclist Deaths – ’96-’05 225 cyclists died in NYC. 92% of those deaths involved a motor vehicle
2) Cycling Pedestrian Deaths – ’96-’05 11 pedestrians died in NYC after being hit by cyclists, 3 of which the pedestrian had disregarded traffic signal. ’06-’13 there were 4 deaths (i.e. they declined. they didn’t go up)
So it’s approx 20x more likely for a cyclist to get killed than to do killing everytime they go out. This kind of stat is a large reason many cyclists flock to CP, because they are looking to avoid the dangers of NYC street cycling. The facts are sometimes helpful in framing a discussion.
The topic here is cyclists in CENTRAL PARK ONLY. In that context the statistics show they cause far more injuries than incur them, many more than do drivers.
Molly – your claim is utterly unfounded. If a cyclist strikes a pedestrian, it does NOT mean that the cyclist is immediately guilty of a crime. Thankfully the law is not served by this kind of knee jerk decision process. The police actually have to go about an investigation, and therefore they have not charged recent biker. However, my overarching point is that as dangerous as cycling is on the streets, CP is a rare place that a cylcist can ride uninterrupted. There should be reasonable restrictions, but suggestions like a 10MPH speed limit are knee jerk responses that add nothing to a logical way of reducing accidents.
Cyclist, your statement that “CP is a rare place that a cylcist can ride uninterrupted” epitomizes why so many people are being quick to criticize the perceived recklessness of so many cyclists. The fact is that there are lights and crosswalks and thousands of pedestrians in Central Park. There are interruptions, and cyclists need to ride accordingly given the surroundings.
Perhaps the higher incidence of bike deaths is because they disregarded the traffic lights. Your point does not mention whether they were in the right or the wrong.
just spent some time in the park, as an experiment I waited for the light at the 59th St. crossing the one that goes across to the Time Warner Ctr. Entrance-in less than an hour seven bicycles blew through the red light.
Did you happen to make note of how many pedestrians crossed against the light during that same time period?
I have nearly been run over several times on Riverside Drive. Cyclists use the drive on weekends as a “thruway” because there are fewer cars to slow them down.
They disregard all traffic lights, travel in packs and glare pedestrians down if they are trying to get across with the light. The idea that they are training is ridiculous. They are bullies and lawbreakers.
Yes there are plenty of pedestrians at fault who jaywalk, walk and talk on phones or listen to music drowning out all other sounds. But they are still more vulnerable in a collision.
It is time that everyone stops to think about their actions, look around them and be a more responsible citizen.
It is ridiculous for Levine to say cars represent a greater danger in the park when a driver could never get away with speeding through a red light, which is SOP for cyclists? The obvious solution is to lower the bike speed limit to 10 mph and enforce it vigorously. Let the hotrodders train on the highways.
They studied drivers in NYC and found that drivers run 1.2 million red lights a day in New York City. Drivers certainly get away with murder, too. 250-280 lives a year in NYC alone. 32,000 or so nationwide. Cyclists are responsible for six deaths a year nationwide. In NYC, there seems to be about a five year interval between cyclist-caused deaths. Driving accounts for another 70,000 injuries in NYC vs. 500 that cyclists account for. (in other words, 140 people are hospitalized in NYC as a result of getting hit by a car for every one person hospitalized for getting hit by a cyclist.)
The threat cyclists present to the population is little more than a rounding error of the danger that drivers of motorized vehicles present.
Here’s another way to think of it. A cyclist is about 170lbs of bike and person moving at, typically 15mph or less. A driver in a car is somewhere between 4,000-8,000 pounds moving at 30mph (the speed limit in NYC) or more. Survival rate of being hit by a cyclist at 15mph is almost 100%. Survival rate of being hit by a car at 30mph is 50%.
Yet despite this huge disparity, we’re complaining about cyclists as if they’re a real danger. They aren’t.
Well put.
Molly – so as long as cyclists are getting hit by cars you are ok with it. Just zero tolerance for pedestrians getting hit, regardless of whether they are observing legal rules on crossing roads. Your arguments are typical majority rule arguments. As long as it doesn’t impact you that’s all you care about. Not finding a median solution that is best for the most people, but rather only what is self serving to you. Hopefully the decision makers have a more well thought out opinion.
In order to be really safe, the “obvious solution” is that we should just ban all automobiles on the upper west side. Because drivers can’t be trusted to follow the rules, or yield to pedestrians, and people keep getting hurt and killed. Better yet, let’s just put speed bumps all the way down Broadway.
You see, these arguments don’t sound so great anymore when we start aiming them at your preferred mode of transportation.
adding speed bumps would certainly curb this ridiculous need to race around the park
This issue is pretty ridiculous. We live in one of the safest and cleanest areas of Manhattan, yet we still fear for our lives because of unsafe bicyclists. Especially those delivery guys! They will run you over in a heart beat. And to top it off — one of those delivery guys was urinating on the sidewalk in broad daylight on W 76th. Would have been awesome if he had a license plate.
I really hope they do something about this soon. If were going to be “greener”, then the gov’t needs to enforce laws to go with that. Period.
Ew – gross!! The commercial delivery cyclists are required to wear a vest with the name of their restaurant. Did you happen to see whose employee it was?
THIS IS MY CONCLUSION: SPEED is the problem. (READ DETAILS below; I didn’t have more time to edit this so please excuse some confusing points; otherwise, you should understand).
MY 1st SOLUTION: Get rid of cars from Central Park at all times. They have enough space in NYC. Make the pedestrian and bicycle lanes wider utilizing the current car lane. Add a protected barrier between the pedestrian and bicycle lanes. Force bikers to drive at 15 MPH or less, and STOP at pedestrian crossings. Also force pedestrians to wait for the light.
MY 2nd SIMILAR/DIFFERENT SOLUTION: Get rid of cars from Central Park at all times. They have enough space in NYC. Make the pedestrian and bicycle lanes wider utilizing the current car lane. Add a protected barrier between the pedestrian and SLOW bicycle lanes. Add a 2nd protected, COMPLETELY CLOSED, FAST bike lane on the right that allows all the crazy bike speeders to speed at 35 MPH or more for what I care. (ULTRA FAST BICYCLE EXERCISERS can only enter and exit the lane at a few entrances around the 6-mile loop.) Oh yeah, and BUILD pedestrian bridge crossings at current traffic lights. Get rid of traffic lights for the FAST ENCLOSED-“EXERCISE” bike lane. Keep traffic lights on the SLOW bike lane to allow SLOW bikers to hop off their bikes and exit through the traffic light “protected barrier” gap to cross the pedestrian bridge crossing to exit the park, etc.
DETAILS: As far as I see it, SPEED is the main problem. First of all, there should be way more bicycle lanes in ALL of NYC, not only Manhattan or main streets in other boroughs. Yes, in Manhattan I agree, sidewalk bicycling is just out of the question. But, consider other boroughs where there are usually more cars than pedestrians, especially in the more rural areas. Obviously, its safer for bicyclists to ride on the sidewalk at a SAFE speed of 6 miles per hour or less. If bikes are “considered” vehicles, why don’t they have mandatory mirrors? Imagine turning your head to check for an incoming vehicle riding at the so called “25 MPH.” Unfit bicyclists, especially older people, would lose control, and the vehicle would crash into them or another vehicle to avoid them. See what I am saying here: In all of my mentioned examples, SPEED is the problem. Cars want to go at least 25 MPH in the city. Since this makes sense for car drivers, then bicyclists don’t belong on the street, unless there is a protected bicycle lane with strong barriers. Car drivers are a completely different entity. Car drivers have a lot of protection from steel on all sides. 25 MPH may seem slow to car drivers so they might exceed it accidentally or on purpose. If bikers suddenly change the lane or fall of their bike, car drivers won’t have enough time to react. The same could apply for pedestrians on sidewalks. Since pedestrians usually walk at around 4 MPH or a little more, bicyclists should use their protected bicycle lane. However, the pedestrian VS. bicycle problem is completely different. Most bicyclists reach a normal speed of 8 MPH, unless they want to be exhausted or have too much energy. Obviously (8 MPH bicyclists) see (4 MPH pedestrians) and can STOP easily to avoid hitting them on the sidewalk. Seriously, cars and bikes don’t mix well at all. Imagine an elderly person driving on a bike down 5th avenue on the left hand side. Its a complete catastrophe. I know for a fact, that elderly person would be much safer on the sidewalk even if its Manhattan, considering that there is no protected bike lane on 5th avenue. To all you who oppose bicycle riding on sidewalks, I have one thing to say: Children of the age 12 or under the age of 12, who are allowed to ride on sidewalks with their bikes, are literally speed demons. Trust me, I see kids speeding on bikes all the time, possibly exceeding 14 MPH. That’s because they try to speed for the thrill of it. If children lose control on their bikes on the sidewalk, that obviously endangers pedestrians, especially other small children. KEEP IN MIND, 12 year old children usually have bicycles with 26 inch in diameter tires, which the law clearly states is illegal.
I like your second idea. Would make everybody happy. Pedestrian crossings like that are called grade separated, which is the safest type of crossing. There should be a grade separated crossing at every pedestrian entrance to the park road. Separating the three park road users (cars excluded) will then result in zero or close to zero injuries.
Sadly, would probably never happen.
bikers need to be held responcable need lesens they thing they own the road and the pashes in the park.
there needs to be simple enforcement of laws regarding bicyclists and pedestrians. Within the last year I was hit by a speeding bicyclist going the wrong way at night along the Columbus Avenue bike lane at West 106 Street. I was knocked to the ground, disoriented and I called 911. An ambulance did not respond nor did the police. To top it off the bicyclist came back and cursed me out because I was in his way. Furthermore I was going to a community meeting that evening as an advocate for bike lanes….after the meeting I took myself to the emergency room and it was identified that I have a damaged cuff and now I have limited mobility with the one arm. The City agencies do not take non-drivers seriously: everybody should take responsibility for their actions and this includes the City politicians.
Requiring license plates, or lowering the speed limit, or any other rule aimed just at cyclists would not be a good idea. Rules like that will only be followed by those that choose to adhere to them, so those are the people who get penalized. Since our inept police department is unable to enforce the laws for cyclists now, adding more laws means having more laws to ignore.
I just want to make it clear I’m talking specifically to Central Park, New York City:
All the bicyclists in Central park want to ride continuously or sustained and that is the issue. In order for that to happen the lights and the cars must be removed.
The solution is get rid of the cars and the 53 lights add two overhead bridges on 72nd St. and look both ways signs for the rest of the crossings. That would be exactly how Riverside Park is designed! Giving out thousands of tickets and lower speeds will never work. It’s not a solution it’s a deterrent!
Anyone think of asking how a cyclist is supposed to know how fast they are going? Last time I checked bikes don’t come with speedometers. Also, what is being done about reckless pedestrians? the ones jaywalking. The ones jumping out into the roadway without looking? Everyone is quick to judge the cyclist involved in the pedestrians death before the facts are all out. How can you cal him reckless without all the facts being known?
This is about making Central Park a continuous ride for “ALL THE CYCLIST” who want to ride around the park without having to pause 53 times for the 53 red lights. The solution is to get rid of the cars and lights.
To address the crossing you can use an overhead bridge and “look both ways” signs same as Riverside Park uses.
Ticketing only creates bad vibes and is only a deterrent not a solution!!!!
This is so stupid on so many levels the pedestrians have tge right away law is also stupid people will never pay attention to where they walk which will cause them to get hit. The stupid licence plate thing he said on bikes is also stupid nyc have alot of cycling history just cause 2 people got hit by a bike was cause they wasnt paying attention if it was a car there wouldnt be this much publicity as it is now. When i ride in the park runners run all over the place and people walk in the middle of the road even in the streets of nyc .All people need to do is pay attention is that hard to look at the light when it say dont walk to a white walk sign when bikes slow down at lights just to see if anyone is crossing if they are stop and then let the people cross but the speeding mid day need to be slowed down a little .and the pedestrians have the right away need to stop being taken for granted like seriously learn to pay attention you put your life in more danger if you dont pay attention and stop rushing and use the correct lanes in the park . When i do my training i do it at night or 5:00 in the morning and i also commute through and alot of people do but runners and walkers get mad cause cyclist and recreation riders go past them where ever so can every one use there eyes to look and common sense .
Do we have to wait for someone to die to keep rush hour traffic out of Prospect and Central Parks?
https://www.change.org/p/bill-de-blasio-do-we-have-to-wait-for-someone-to-die-to-keep-rush-hour-traffic-out-of-prospect-and-central-parks?recruiter=2126780&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-lg-promoted_petitions-no_msg&fb_ref=Default