The following is an NBC NY report:
There’s a lot of things Mayor Michael Bloomberg can’t control – like the MTA’s policy on bringing bikes on subways – but that doesn’t stop him from sounding off.
On his weekly radio show Friday morning, Bloomberg said he doesn’t think commuters should be allowed to bring their bikes on subway cars, according to the New York Times.
Here’s the thing, it’s not up to Mayor Mike. As long as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority permits it, commuters can cram their bicycles into subway cars as they please.
“I know bicyclists will now ring the phones off the hook, but [the bikes] are just too big, particularly at rush hour,” Bloomberg said on his show.
That statement may get a sidelong glance from those who know the mayor as a champion of mass transit and bicycle rights.
Remember, it was Bloomberg who decided to close parts of Broadway to traffic – rush hour notwithstanding – to create bike lanes. It’s also Bloomberg who plans to turn Times Square into a giant mall, with walkways, benches and cafes replacing car lanes to make the city more “pedestrian friendly.”
Yet despite his advocacy of cycling and regular use of the subway system, Bloomberg gets annoyed when bicyclists get in his way.
It “drives me crazy cause I’ve just never agreed with the MTA,” Bloomberg said on his show. “I just don’t think they should allow it. But I’m not running the MTA.”
No Bloomberg, for once, you’re not in charge of the rails. And cycling commuters probably want to keep it that way.
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4 Responses
Tell the Mayer that there are more bicyclists getting hit by cars when they ride on the street then people getting hit when they ride on the sidewalk. Over here where I live they give out tickets like crazy for riding on the side walk. There should be no law against riding on the sidewalk. How do i go about changing that law?
Unless I’m very much mistaken, it’s not his show, it’s John Gambling’s.
Being crowded with bikes on top of riders in the train cars might be an inconvenience, but with drivers practically clipping other cars on the streets in the Big Apple I say too bad to the complainers who ride the rails. Road safety of the city residents should be the primary concern, especially bicyclists who are very vulnerable. If Mayor Mike does not like bike congestion on the trains let him buy the cyclists cars.
Why doesn’t Mayor Bloomberg come over to London and ride the Underground for a while. The difference in size of the carriages will soon make him see that you could even find room for an elephant on the NY subway system!! Why on earth not bikes that take up much less space?!