Greetings,

I hope this email finds you well.  We at the campaign have enjoyed a fun Bike Month, and we can't help but be giddy about the amazing changes that are happening to our streets.  If you haven't been down to experience the NEW Broadway, it's worth a trip.  What a hoot to sit in the middle of Times Square in a lawn chair.

Despite our excitement about Broadway, we have to wonder...WHAT ABOUT US?  Why not continue this enlightened transportation policy and bring it to the Upper West Side?

So, we need your help.  On June 2nd, we plan to ask Community Board 7 to support protected bike lanes on the Upper West Side.  Come out and explain why you want these in your community, why they make us safer, happier, calmer, (insert your reason here).

June 2, 6:30 p.m.
Jewish Lifecare
120 West 106th Street (at Columbus)

Find me or Tila Duhaime before the meeting and we'll help you sign up to speak during the public session.

As always, please don't just hit "reply" to this email.  If you have a question, feel free to email me at lisa@sladkus.com or lisa@transalt.org.

Thanks so much.  See you on the 2nd.

Lisa Sladkus






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Hi Lisa,
I have been riding my bike on the streets of Manhattan my entire adult life.  I am 62 years old and have been commuting to work and riding my bike to get me everywhere since the summer of 1974 -- 35 years.  I don't think the "Protected" bike lanes on Broadway, or the "protected" bike lanes on any street are at all safe to bikers.  I will go out of my way to avoided these dangerous "protected" bike lanes.  Until these lanes are cordened off from pedestrians, these are NOT safe passage ways for bicyclists.  Pedestrians walk in these "proteced" bike lanes without paying any attention to way they are.  They consider this space their space and get angry as cyclists ask for thier right of way.  I am terribly disappointed with all of the new bikeways.  I would rather deal with car traffic..........than the dangers of pedestrians aimlessly walking with thier eyes closed in these completely unproteced "bike" lanes.
So, I am sorry, but I will not be joining you on the the 2nd.  Not until the bike lane are truely "protected" and safe from pedestrians.
Chuck Rose

 
> From: lisa@sladkus.com
> To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com
> Subject: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!
> Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 22:26:27 -0400

>
> Greetings,
>
> I hope this email finds you well. We at the campaign have enjoyed a fun Bike Month, and we can't help but be giddy about the amazing changes that are happening to our streets. If you haven't been down to experience the NEW Broadway, it's worth a trip. What a hoot to sit in the middle of Times Square in a lawn chair.
>
> Despite our excitement about Broadway, we have to wonder...WHAT ABOUT US? Why not continue this enlightened transportation policy and bring it to the Upper West Side?
>
> So, we need your help. On June 2nd, we plan to ask Community Board 7 to support protected bike lanes on the Upper West Side. Come out and explain why you want these in your community, why they make us safer, happier, calmer, (insert your reason here).
>
> June 2, 6:30 p.m.
> Jewish Lifecare
> 120 West 106th Street (at Columbus)
>
> Find me or Tila Duhaime before the meeting and we'll help you sign up to speak during the public session.
>
> As always, please don't just hit "reply" to this email. If you have a question, feel free to email me at lisa@sladkus.com or lisa@transalt.org.
>
> Thanks so much. See you on the 2nd.
>
> Lisa Sladkus
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Archive: http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/uws/lists/uws-discussion/archive/2009/05/1243477587804
> To unsubscribe send an email with subject "unsubscribe" to uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com. Please contact uws-discussion-manager@lists.livablestreets.com for questions.
>

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I think Chuck points to some of the overlooked issues in the campaign to create more protected bike lanes.   The protected bike lane is not a one-size fits all solution for all cyclists, yet the law is written in such a way that all cyclists are required by existing traffic law to use them.   The problem for experienced cyclists is that protected bike lanes and multi-use facilities mix cyclists with pedestrians.   A cyclist who is confident in traffic and can ride 15-20 mph doesn’t really want to be mixed up in slow and frequently unpredictable pedestrian traffic.   Traffic on the streets has some rules, predictable patterns, and interactions.    Pedestrian traffic has few if any rules (except when crossing streets).  That’s why it’s generally considered a bad idea for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk, and many municipalities (including NYC) ban adults from cycling on the sidewalk.   What happens with physically separated paths is that they become sidewalk extensions, forcing cyclists to slow down to near walking pace, or into a speed up – slow down – speed up – slow down, as they encounter patches of pedestrian traffic in the bike lane.    Nor am I terribly confident that pedestrians will learn skill that they don’t need to use on the sidewalk (like paying attention to surroundings, not wandering aimlessly while texting, not creating a four-abreast pedestrian obstacle, etc).    

 

Whether cyclists are truly better off  in separated bike lanes is really a debatable point.   Another point of view is that cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.   What this means is that cyclist skill—acting like a vehicle in traffic—is an effective way to prevent crashes, and that many, though not all crashes, are caused by cyclists’ failure to do so.  I know this may seem anathema to some, who believe that cyclists can never be in the wrong, or that cyclists are always victims of motorist aggression, but the bike crash studies and statistics simply don’t bear that out.    Many protected bike facilities have some issues in terms of their ability to treat cyclists as vehicles, and instead wind up turning cyclists into little more than pedestrians mounted on a machine.   Some of us don’t want to be treated that way.

 

And here’s the rub, while I’m all for reducing the free public space given away to motorists, I hardly think that protected bike lanes are democratic for cyclists.   First, under NYC law, cyclists are forced to use these facilities, even if a cyclist has the experience, knowledge and skills to cycle safely in traffic.   That’s right, NYC has a mandatory use of bike lane law, and people have gotten ticketed, arrested, and bikes confiscated for failing to follow that law.   Second, cyclists can get a citation for cycling on the sidewalk with pedestrians (and rightly so), but I haven’t heard of any pedestrians getting cited for walking in the bike lane.  That’s not exactly equal and democratic treatment.   Third, I’ve found that bike lanes give motorists yet another excuse to tell us that we don’t belong.   “Get in the bike lane”.    

 

I’m not against the creation of new separated bike lanes; however, I am against being coerced into using them, and being treated like I don’t belong on the roads.   To the claim that cyclists need their own road space or special road space, I have to reply: almost every lane is a bike lane under NYS and NYC law.

 

With Regards,

Rich Conroy

Bicycle Education Programs Director

Bike New York

212-932-2453 x159

www.bikenewyork.org

---

From: Tila Duhaime [mailto:tilatila2@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:39 AM

To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com

Subject: Re: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!

 

Chuck, and interested UWS Renaissance Members,

I applaud you as one of the pioneer cyclists on the New York City streets, and I'd like to respond to your main gripe about pedestrian/cyclist interactions on physically separated bike lanes.  I believe, along with hundreds if not thousands of others who have worked to tame auto traffic to foster everyday cycling, that such lanes are an important part of the larger livable streets movement to promote people over cars, and I would hate to have the perfect be the enemy of the good on this particular point.

First, I must disagree that these lanes "are not safe passage ways for bicyclists" because of wayward pedestrian traffic.  They can be less convenient, or less speedy, routes than you and I might like when pedestrians wander into the lanes, but most rational cyclists would gladly accept a matchup against a clueless pedestrian in the bike lane than a clueless or careless motorist on the roads at large.  Many bikers are killed every year from run-ins with autos on the streets of this city; none, to my knowledge, are killed by errant pedestrians in dedicated bike lanes.  Most of the Hudson River Greenway, now the busiest bike path in the country, is accessible to and is regularly used by pedestrians as well as cyclists; while you make a very good point that walkers often stray where they shouldn't, the truth is that cyclists are still better off riding on such physically separated paths than they would be if forced to stay on city streets with auto traffic. 

I don't doubt that you, Chuck, can travel faster from point A to point B if you just "deal with car traffic" instead of using protected lanes or greenways; I also know that thousands of Upper West Siders would rather not run the statistical risks of injury or death that you accept when you do so.  We have asked for such lanes in our neighborhood in an attempt to democratize the current misallocation of road space and to encourage cyclists who are less experienced, and probably less calloused to the risk of serious injury, than you are.

Secondly, as with any modification in longstanding traffic patterns, there is a learning curve for street users, drivers and cyclists and pedestrians alike, to learn the new rules of the road.  With out-of-town pedestrians, like many people in the new Times Square district, this is for the most part a lost cause.  I can't tell from your email where you have encountered these "aimless", "eyes closed" pedestrians, but in my experience, the nicer you ask for your right of way, the less likely they are to be angry.  Recent experience has shown that residents and other people who regularly encounter protected bike lanes DO learn where they are expected to walk, ride, and drive over a relatively short period of time.  The DOT is experimenting with different visual or physical cues, like coloring the lanes, to alert pedestrians to the fact that one section of the street is different from another.  In other countries and parts of this country, such design elements have taught pedestrians in short order which part of the street is theirs and which parts are reserved for use by bikes or cars.  I am confident that New Yorkers are smart enough to catch on: they eventually learned to scoop up after their dogs, didn't they?

I'm sorry that you've decided not to speak in favor of allocating more road space, however imperfect in your view, to cyclists on the Upper West Side.  We know that having more bikers on the road like you makes cycling safer and more appealing for everybody.  I would love to have road veterans like yourself advocate for better cycling infrastructure here, and I invite you to reconsider your position.

Ride on,

Tila

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 12:03 AM, Charles Rose <crose5rsd@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Lisa,
I have been riding my bike on the streets of Manhattan my entire adult life.  I am 62 years old and have been commuting to work and riding my bike to get me everywhere since the summer of 1974 -- 35 years.  I don't think the "Protected" bike lanes on Broadway, or the "protected" bike lanes on any street are at all safe to bikers.  I will go out of my way to avoided these dangerous "protected" bike lanes.  Until these lanes are cordened off from pedestrians, these are NOT safe passage ways for bicyclists.  Pedestrians walk in these "proteced" bike lanes without paying any attention to way they are.  They consider this space their space and get angry as cyclists ask for thier right of way.  I am terribly disappointed with all of the new bikeways.  I would rather deal with car traffic..........than the dangers of pedestrians aimlessly walking with thier eyes closed in these completely unproteced "bike" lanes.
So, I am sorry, but I will not be joining you on the the 2nd.  Not until the bike lane are truely "protected" and safe from pedestrians.
Chuck Rose

 
> From: lisa@sladkus.com
> To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com
> Subject: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!
> Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 22:26:27 -0400

>
> Greetings,
>
> I hope this email finds you well. We at the campaign have enjoyed a fun Bike Month, and we can't help but be giddy about the amazing changes that are happening to our streets. If you haven't been down to experience the NEW Broadway, it's worth a trip. What a hoot to sit in the middle of Times Square in a lawn chair.
>
> Despite our excitement about Broadway, we have to wonder...WHAT ABOUT US? Why not continue this enlightened transportation policy and bring it to the Upper West Side?
>
> So, we need your help. On June 2nd, we plan to ask Community Board 7 to support protected bike lanes on the Upper West Side. Come out and explain why you want these in your community, why they make us safer, happier, calmer, (insert your reason here).
>
> June 2, 6:30 p.m.
> Jewish Lifecare
> 120 West 106th Street (at Columbus)
>
> Find me or Tila Duhaime before the meeting and we'll help you sign up to speak during the public session.
>
> As always, please don't just hit "reply" to this email. If you have a question, feel free to email me at lisa@sladkus.com or lisa@transalt.org.
>
> Thanks so much. See you on the 2nd.
>
> Lisa Sladkus
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Archive: http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/uws/lists/uws-discussion/archive/2009/05/1243477587804
> To unsubscribe send an email with subject "unsubscribe" to uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com. Please contact uws-discussion-manager@lists.livablestreets.com for questions.
>

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As a life long biker in Manhattan, I share the views echoed by Rich  and Chuck. The protected bikelanes that DoT built in 1980 soon became a magnet for pedestrians and garment center pushcarts. Real Estate interests led to their quick demise despite increased bike volumes with minimal impact on traffic speeds.
The NYC traffic rules - 4-12 (p) do require bikelane use except that section 4-12(p)1(ii)  allows for a judgement call as to their usability.

(p) Bicycles
(1) Bicycle riders to use bicycle lanes. Whenever a usable path or lane for
bicycles has been provided, bicycle riders shall use such path or lane only except
under any of the following situations:
(i) When preparing for a turn at an intersection or into a private road or
driveway.
(ii) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including but not
limited to, fixed or moving objects, motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians,
pushcarts, animals, surface hazards) that make it unsafe to continue
within such bicycle path or lane.

Hope this helps clarify
Larry Reilly
Former President of TA, &  NYC DoT Bike Coordinator in the 1980's'

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 11:05 AM, Rich Conroy <richc@bikenewyork.org> wrote:

I think Chuck points to some of the overlooked issues in the campaign to create more protected bike lanes.   The protected bike lane is not a one-size fits all solution for all cyclists, yet the law is written in such a way that all cyclists are required by existing traffic law to use them.   The problem for experienced cyclists is that protected bike lanes and multi-use facilities mix cyclists with pedestrians.   A cyclist who is confident in traffic and can ride 15-20 mph doesn’t really want to be mixed up in slow and frequently unpredictable pedestrian traffic.   Traffic on the streets has some rules, predictable patterns, and interactions.    Pedestrian traffic has few if any rules (except when crossing streets).  That’s why it’s generally considered a bad idea for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk, and many municipalities (including NYC) ban adults from cycling on the sidewalk.   What happens with physically separated paths is that they become sidewalk extensions, forcing cyclists to slow down to near walking pace, or into a speed up – slow down – speed up – slow down, as they encounter patches of pedestrian traffic in the bike lane.    Nor am I terribly confident that pedestrians will learn skill that they don’t need to use on the sidewalk (like paying attention to surroundings, not wandering aimlessly while texting, not creating a four-abreast pedestrian obstacle, etc).    

 

Whether cyclists are truly better off  in separated bike lanes is really a debatable point.   Another point of view is that cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.   What this means is that cyclist skill—acting like a vehicle in traffic—is an effective way to prevent crashes, and that many, though not all crashes, are caused by cyclists’ failure to do so.  I know this may seem anathema to some, who believe that cyclists can never be in the wrong, or that cyclists are always victims of motorist aggression, but the bike crash studies and statistics simply don’t bear that out.    Many protected bike facilities have some issues in terms of their ability to treat cyclists as vehicles, and instead wind up turning cyclists into little more than pedestrians mounted on a machine.   Some of us don’t want to be treated that way.

 

And here’s the rub, while I’m all for reducing the free public space given away to motorists, I hardly think that protected bike lanes are democratic for cyclists.   First, under NYC law, cyclists are forced to use these facilities, even if a cyclist has the experience, knowledge and skills to cycle safely in traffic.   That’s right, NYC has a mandatory use of bike lane law, and people have gotten ticketed, arrested, and bikes confiscated for failing to follow that law.   Second, cyclists can get a citation for cycling on the sidewalk with pedestrians (and rightly so), but I haven’t heard of any pedestrians getting cited for walking in the bike lane.  That’s not exactly equal and democratic treatment.   Third, I’ve found that bike lanes give motorists yet another excuse to tell us that we don’t belong.   “Get in the bike lane”.    

 

I’m not against the creation of new separated bike lanes; however, I am against being coerced into using them, and being treated like I don’t belong on the roads.   To the claim that cyclists need their own road space or special road space, I have to reply: almost every lane is a bike lane under NYS and NYC law.

 

With Regards,

Rich Conroy

Bicycle Education Programs Director

Bike New York

212-932-2453 x159

www.bikenewyork.org

---

From: Tila Duhaime [mailto:tilatila2@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:39 AM

To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com

Subject: Re: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!

 

Chuck, and interested UWS Renaissance Members,

I applaud you as one of the pioneer cyclists on the New York City streets, and I'd like to respond to your main gripe about pedestrian/cyclist interactions on physically separated bike lanes.  I believe, along with hundreds if not thousands of others who have worked to tame auto traffic to foster everyday cycling, that such lanes are an important part of the larger livable streets movement to promote people over cars, and I would hate to have the perfect be the enemy of the good on this particular point.

First, I must disagree that these lanes "are not safe passage ways for bicyclists" because of wayward pedestrian traffic.  They can be less convenient, or less speedy, routes than you and I might like when pedestrians wander into the lanes, but most rational cyclists would gladly accept a matchup against a clueless pedestrian in the bike lane than a clueless or careless motorist on the roads at large.  Many bikers are killed every year from run-ins with autos on the streets of this city; none, to my knowledge, are killed by errant pedestrians in dedicated bike lanes.  Most of the Hudson River Greenway, now the busiest bike path in the country, is accessible to and is regularly used by pedestrians as well as cyclists; while you make a very good point that walkers often stray where they shouldn't, the truth is that cyclists are still better off riding on such physically separated paths than they would be if forced to stay on city streets with auto traffic. 

I don't doubt that you, Chuck, can travel faster from point A to point B if you just "deal with car traffic" instead of using protected lanes or greenways; I also know that thousands of Upper West Siders would rather not run the statistical risks of injury or death that you accept when you do so.  We have asked for such lanes in our neighborhood in an attempt to democratize the current misallocation of road space and to encourage cyclists who are less experienced, and probably less calloused to the risk of serious injury, than you are.

Secondly, as with any modification in longstanding traffic patterns, there is a learning curve for street users, drivers and cyclists and pedestrians alike, to learn the new rules of the road.  With out-of-town pedestrians, like many people in the new Times Square district, this is for the most part a lost cause.  I can't tell from your email where you have encountered these "aimless", "eyes closed" pedestrians, but in my experience, the nicer you ask for your right of way, the less likely they are to be angry.  Recent experience has shown that residents and other people who regularly encounter protected bike lanes DO learn where they are expected to walk, ride, and drive over a relatively short period of time.  The DOT is experimenting with different visual or physical cues, like coloring the lanes, to alert pedestrians to the fact that one section of the street is different from another.  In other countries and parts of this country, such design elements have taught pedestrians in short order which part of the street is theirs and which parts are reserved for use by bikes or cars.  I am confident that New Yorkers are smart enough to catch on: they eventually learned to scoop up after their dogs, didn't they?

I'm sorry that you've decided not to speak in favor of allocating more road space, however imperfect in your view, to cyclists on the Upper West Side.  We know that having more bikers on the road like you makes cycling safer and more appealing for everybody.  I would love to have road veterans like yourself advocate for better cycling infrastructure here, and I invite you to reconsider your position.

Ride on,

Tila

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 12:03 AM, Charles Rose <crose5rsd@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Lisa,
I have been riding my bike on the streets of Manhattan my entire adult life.  I am 62 years old and have been commuting to work and riding my bike to get me everywhere since the summer of 1974 -- 35 years.  I don't think the "Protected" bike lanes on Broadway, or the "protected" bike lanes on any street are at all safe to bikers.  I will go out of my way to avoided these dangerous "protected" bike lanes.  Until these lanes are cordened off from pedestrians, these are NOT safe passage ways for bicyclists.  Pedestrians walk in these "proteced" bike lanes without paying any attention to way they are.  They consider this space their space and get angry as cyclists ask for thier right of way.  I am terribly disappointed with all of the new bikeways.  I would rather deal with car traffic..........than the dangers of pedestrians aimlessly walking with thier eyes closed in these completely unproteced "bike" lanes.
So, I am sorry, but I will not be joining you on the the 2nd.  Not until the bike lane are truely "protected" and safe from pedestrians.
Chuck Rose

 
> From: lisa@sladkus.com
> To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com
> Subject: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!
> Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 22:26:27 -0400

>
> Greetings,
>
> I hope this email finds you well. We at the campaign have enjoyed a fun Bike Month, and we can't help but be giddy about the amazing changes that are happening to our streets. If you haven't been down to experience the NEW Broadway, it's worth a trip. What a hoot to sit in the middle of Times Square in a lawn chair.
>
> Despite our excitement about Broadway, we have to wonder...WHAT ABOUT US? Why not continue this enlightened transportation policy and bring it to the Upper West Side?
>
> So, we need your help. On June 2nd, we plan to ask Community Board 7 to support protected bike lanes on the Upper West Side. Come out and explain why you want these in your community, why they make us safer, happier, calmer, (insert your reason here).
>
> June 2, 6:30 p.m.
> Jewish Lifecare
> 120 West 106th Street (at Columbus)
>
> Find me or Tila Duhaime before the meeting and we'll help you sign up to speak during the public session.
>
> As always, please don't just hit "reply" to this email. If you have a question, feel free to email me at lisa@sladkus.com or lisa@transalt.org.
>
> Thanks so much. See you on the 2nd.
>
> Lisa Sladkus
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Archive: http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/uws/lists/uws-discussion/archive/2009/05/1243477587804
> To unsubscribe send an email with subject "unsubscribe" to uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com. Please contact uws-discussion-manager@lists.livablestreets.com for questions.
>

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I think Chuck points to some of the overlooked issues in the campaign to create more protected bike lanes.   The protected bike lane is not a one-size fits all solution for all cyclists, yet the law is written in such a way that all cyclists are required by existing traffic law to use them.   The problem for experienced cyclists is that protected bike lanes and multi-use facilities mix cyclists with pedestrians.   A cyclist who is confident in traffic and can ride 15-20 mph doesn’t really want to be mixed up in slow and frequently unpredictable pedestrian traffic.   Traffic on the streets has some rules, predictable patterns, and interactions.    Pedestrian traffic has few if any rules (except when crossing streets).  That’s why it’s generally considered a bad idea for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk, and many municipalities (including NYC) ban adults from cycling on the sidewalk.   What happens with physically separated paths is that they become sidewalk extensions, forcing cyclists to slow down to near walking pace, or into a speed up – slow down – speed up – slow down, as they encounter patches of pedestrian traffic in the bike lane.    Nor am I terribly confident that pedestrians will learn skill that they don’t need to use on the sidewalk (like paying attention to surroundings, not wandering aimlessly while texting, not creating a four-abreast pedestrian obstacle, etc).    

 

Whether cyclists are truly better off  in separated bike lanes is really a debatable point.   Another point of view is that cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.   What this means is that cyclist skill—acting like a vehicle in traffic—is an effective way to prevent crashes, and that many, though not all crashes, are caused by cyclists’ failure to do so.  I know this may seem anathema to some, who believe that cyclists can never be in the wrong, or that cyclists are always victims of motorist aggression, but the bike crash studies and statistics simply don’t bear that out.    Many protected bike facilities have some issues in terms of their ability to treat cyclists as vehicles, and instead wind up turning cyclists into little more than pedestrians mounted on a machine.   Some of us don’t want to be treated that way.

 

And here’s the rub, while I’m all for reducing the free public space given away to motorists, I hardly think that protected bike lanes are democratic for cyclists.   First, under NYC law, cyclists are forced to use these facilities, even if a cyclist has the experience, knowledge and skills to cycle safely in traffic.   That’s right, NYC has a mandatory use of bike lane law, and people have gotten ticketed, arrested, and bikes confiscated for failing to follow that law.   Second, cyclists can get a citation for cycling on the sidewalk with pedestrians (and rightly so), but I haven’t heard of any pedestrians getting cited for walking in the bike lane.  That’s not exactly equal and democratic treatment.   Third, I’ve found that bike lanes give motorists yet another excuse to tell us that we don’t belong.   “Get in the bike lane”.    

 

I’m not against the creation of new separated bike lanes; however, I am against being coerced into using them, and being treated like I don’t belong on the roads.   To the claim that cyclists need their own road space or special road space, I have to reply: almost every lane is a bike lane under NYS and NYC law.

 

With Regards,

Rich Conroy

Bicycle Education Programs Director

Bike New York

212-932-2453 x159

www.bikenewyork.org

---

From: Tila Duhaime [mailto:tilatila2@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:39 AM

To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com

Subject: Re: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!

 

Chuck, and interested UWS Renaissance Members,

I applaud you as one of the pioneer cyclists on the New York City streets, and I'd like to respond to your main gripe about pedestrian/cyclist interactions on physically separated bike lanes.  I believe, along with hundreds if not thousands of others who have worked to tame auto traffic to foster everyday cycling, that such lanes are an important part of the larger livable streets movement to promote people over cars, and I would hate to have the perfect be the enemy of the good on this particular point.

First, I must disagree that these lanes "are not safe passage ways for bicyclists" because of wayward pedestrian traffic.  They can be less convenient, or less speedy, routes than you and I might like when pedestrians wander into the lanes, but most rational cyclists would gladly accept a matchup against a clueless pedestrian in the bike lane than a clueless or careless motorist on the roads at large.  Many bikers are killed every year from run-ins with autos on the streets of this city; none, to my knowledge, are killed by errant pedestrians in dedicated bike lanes.  Most of the Hudson River Greenway, now the busiest bike path in the country, is accessible to and is regularly used by pedestrians as well as cyclists; while you make a very good point that walkers often stray where they shouldn't, the truth is that cyclists are still better off riding on such physically separated paths than they would be if forced to stay on city streets with auto traffic. 

I don't doubt that you, Chuck, can travel faster from point A to point B if you just "deal with car traffic" instead of using protected lanes or greenways; I also know that thousands of Upper West Siders would rather not run the statistical risks of injury or death that you accept when you do so.  We have asked for such lanes in our neighborhood in an attempt to democratize the current misallocation of road space and to encourage cyclists who are less experienced, and probably less calloused to the risk of serious injury, than you are.

Secondly, as with any modification in longstanding traffic patterns, there is a learning curve for street users, drivers and cyclists and pedestrians alike, to learn the new rules of the road.  With out-of-town pedestrians, like many people in the new Times Square district, this is for the most part a lost cause.  I can't tell from your email where you have encountered these "aimless", "eyes closed" pedestrians, but in my experience, the nicer you ask for your right of way, the less likely they are to be angry.  Recent experience has shown that residents and other people who regularly encounter protected bike lanes DO learn where they are expected to walk, ride, and drive over a relatively short period of time.  The DOT is experimenting with different visual or physical cues, like coloring the lanes, to alert pedestrians to the fact that one section of the street is different from another.  In other countries and parts of this country, such design elements have taught pedestrians in short order which part of the street is theirs and which parts are reserved for use by bikes or cars.  I am confident that New Yorkers are smart enough to catch on: they eventually learned to scoop up after their dogs, didn't they?

I'm sorry that you've decided not to speak in favor of allocating more road space, however imperfect in your view, to cyclists on the Upper West Side.  We know that having more bikers on the road like you makes cycling safer and more appealing for everybody.  I would love to have road veterans like yourself advocate for better cycling infrastructure here, and I invite you to reconsider your position.

Ride on,

Tila

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 12:03 AM, Charles Rose <crose5rsd@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Lisa,
I have been riding my bike on the streets of Manhattan my entire adult life.  I am 62 years old and have been commuting to work and riding my bike to get me everywhere since the summer of 1974 -- 35 years.  I don't think the "Protected" bike lanes on Broadway, or the "protected" bike lanes on any street are at all safe to bikers.  I will go out of my way to avoided these dangerous "protected" bike lanes.  Until these lanes are cordened off from pedestrians, these are NOT safe passage ways for bicyclists.  Pedestrians walk in these "proteced" bike lanes without paying any attention to way they are.  They consider this space their space and get angry as cyclists ask for thier right of way.  I am terribly disappointed with all of the new bikeways.  I would rather deal with car traffic..........than the dangers of pedestrians aimlessly walking with thier eyes closed in these completely unproteced "bike" lanes.
So, I am sorry, but I will not be joining you on the the 2nd.  Not until the bike lane are truely "protected" and safe from pedestrians.
Chuck Rose

 
> From: lisa@sladkus.com
> To: uws-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com
> Subject: [UWS Discussion] Let's Hear Your Voice for Protected Bike Lanes, June 2nd!
> Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 22:26:27 -0400

>
> Greetings,
>
> I hope this email finds you well. We at the campaign have enjoyed a fun Bike Month, and we can't help but be giddy about the amazing changes that are happening to our streets. If you haven't been down to experience the NEW Broadway, it's worth a trip. What a hoot to sit in the middle of Times Square in a lawn chair.
>
> Despite our excitement about Broadway, we have to wonder...WHAT ABOUT US? Why not continue this enlightened transportation policy and bring it to the Upper West Side?
>
> So, we need your help. On June 2nd, we plan to ask Community Board 7 to support protected bike lanes on the Upper West Side. Come out and explain why you want these in your community, why they make us safer, happier, calmer, (insert your reason here).
>
> June 2, 6:30 p.m.
> Jewish Lifecare
> 120 West 106th Street (at Columbus)
>
> Find me or Tila Duhaime before the meeting and we'll help you sign up to speak during the public session.
>
> As always, please don't just hit "reply" to this email. If you have a question, feel free to email me at lisa@sladkus.com or lisa@transalt.org.
>
> Thanks so much. See you on the 2nd.
>
> Lisa Sladkus
>
>
>
>
>
>
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