The Brooklyn Paper reports:
The NYPD has been ordered to begin a borough-wide crackdown that will hit renegade riders for often-overlooked “vehicular offenses” like failing to obey traffic signals and signs, breaking the speed limit, tailgating, and even failure to signal before turning.
Several police sources said on Tuesday that the strict enforcement of safety and vehicle traffic laws — which apply the same to cars as they do to cycles — will begin in a matter of weeks, and that bicyclists caught breaking those rules will be issued a moving violation.
Two-wheelers were stunned to hear that they had risen on the list of police priorities.
“They should focus on drivers, because frankly drivers have more potential to cause harm than cyclists do,” said Lacey Tauber, a Williamsburg resident and rider.
Cycling activist Baruch Herzfeld predicted that the enforcement policy itself will be “dangerous” and “inefficient” and could further strain relations between the city and cyclists.
“Mayor Bloomberg will have as much luck getting the NYPD to enforce these violations as he did getting the Sanitation Department to shovel this past snowstorm,” said Herzfeld.
Officially, of course, bicycle advocate groups have begrudgingly endorsed the increased enforcement — as long as every driver, in car or on bike — is treated with an even hand by police.
“Cyclists need to obey the law, just like any other street user,” said Caroline Samponaro, a spokeswoman for Transportation Alternatives. “But the NYPD needs to prioritize enforcing the dangerous behavior of all street users, whether they be cyclists or drivers.”
The crackdown comes as more and more people are turning in their Subarus for Schwinns. In 2009, the bicycle advocacy group Transportation Alternatives estimated that more than 236,000 people bicycle across the five boroughs — 28 percent more than the year before.
At the same time, the city has continued its Bicycle Master Plan, which calls for 200 miles of new bike lanes across town in the next three years. Once that’s completed, the Department of Transportation plans to add about 50 miles of bike lane each year until 2030, when it is anticipated that the bike network will be finished.
It also comes as some Park Slopers are lashing out against the city’s bicycle lane program, most recently with protests on Prospect Park West, where the bike lane remains a lightning rod, with opponents complaining that it has made the boulevard less safe for pedestrians.
Indeed, cops say that’s the reason for the coming crackdown: Bicycle accidents are on the rise and people are worried.
“It’s a safety concern,” said one police source, who couldn’t provide any hard data about borough-wide bicycle accidents. “The public feels that we are not strict enough [against bicyclists].”
Police brass said that the public has no reason to fear that the NYPD’s new mission against errant bicyclists will hamper their ability to stop other crimes like murder, rape, muggings, burglar and iPhone thefts.
(Source: Brooklyn Paper)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
6 Responses
I guess now all the little “Moishele’s”, peddling their way to Yeshiva, will have to worry about getting pulled over by the cops!
AinOhdMilvado, the little Moisheles should also learn to be careful when riding on heavily-congested sidewalks. The older “Moisheles” who ride on the street, in the wrong direction without wearing helmets are also a danger to themselves and others.
Having said that, pedestrians (myself included)also need to
start obeying the law. All too often we enter the street,
sometimes mid-block, between vehicles, without even looking
whether cars are coming. We walk between cars when the
driver is in the midst of parking. All these activities
are dangerous.
hadassa…
Everything you said is true,
BUT…
You can be sure, the motivation of King Mike Bloomberg is NOT anyone’s safety, but just to have ANOTHER way to generate revenue (i.e. $$$) for the city, while bleeding the middle class dry.
what will they do if you have no ID on you ?
Desperete governments do crazy things to get money They won’t fix the problem, they’le just make other ones.
In California they’re letting out 4% of prisiners to save money…
What would you expect from fanatics who spew one lie after another?
Cycling activist Baruch Herzfeld says that the enforcement policy could further strain relations between the city and cyclists; when it’s the other way around that Bloomberg and the Transportation Tsar have catered only to the cyclists and have strained relations between us and the city to the point that the decent citizens of the city are shelting Bloomberg. Not only Williamsburg and Boro Park, but Park Slopers too are lashing out against the city’s bicycle lane (shove it down your throat) program, complaining that it has made it less safe for pedestrians. Not to worry, at least it’s safe for cyclists; who cares about pedestrians or cars, now second class in the city?
The city is continuing with its Bicycle Master Plan (vehicle rein), which calls for another 200 miles of bike lanes; and he calls it “strained relations between the city and cyclists”!
Williamsburg resident and rider Lacey Tauber says that they should focus on drivers who have more potential to cause harm than cyclists. So according to her we should focus on airplane safety instead of vehicle safety, because airplanes have more potential to cause harm than cars. How much more chutzpa can someone have?
Then the bike prophet Herzfeld predicts that “Mayor Bloomberg will have as much luck getting the NYPD to enforce these violations as he did getting the Sanitation Department to shovel this past snowstorm”. In other words he doesn’t want the police to enforce its laws on the elitists, the hipsters, who have taken over New York.