The NY Post HATES the bike lanes because they take street space away from cars, and they inconvenience columnist Steve Cuozzo when he walks to work through Times Square. But it's a challenge to come up with a new rabble-rousing anti-cyclist article seven days a week. So to fill the gap when there's no bike lane "news" to "report," the tabloid has come up with an easy solution: just pull some anti-bike lane mail from the inbox to fill the column inches. Voila, the haterade is stirred another day! Here's what NY Post reader G. Davis of Staten Island has to say:
God bless Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the NYPD for cracking down on violations by bicycle riders. These bikers are arrogant, obnoxious and dangerous to pedestrians and motorists. They obviously think that they own the streets and are above the law. This applies not just to food delivery people, but to bikers who commute and recreational bikers, as well.
To be fair, the Post also publishes a letter from a cyclist—who hates the bike lanes, too! And then there's Upper East Side resident Mark Robertson, who says the NYPD's crackdown on cyclists hasn't gone far enough. "Most evenings I count several delivery guys riding on the sidewalks and bicyclists going the wrong way on one-way streets—both of which pose a very real danger to pedestrians," writes Robertson. "If the city is cracking down on this blight, I've yet to see any evidence in my neighborhood."
We're all for ticketing cyclists who ride on the sidewalks and put pedestrians at risk. But the NYPD's obsession with cyclists is so seemingly disproportionate to their pursuit of reckless drivers that it's getting a little fetishistic. Careless maniacs on bikes can do just as much harm as careless maniacs behind the wheel, but the overwhelming majority of injuries and deaths in the city are caused by drivers, not cyclists. Just ask the neighbor of Liz Padilla, who was the first to comment on the Post's latest cyclist smear:
I suppose this ticket blitz crackdown initiative is Bloomberg’s way of placating a few loud constituents upset by bike lanes. In June 2005 my next door neighbor, newlywed pro-bono lawyer Liz Padilla, was killed on 5th Ave (Pk Slope) as she swerved her bike into traffic avoiding a swinging trucker’s door. She was riding within the “suggested” bike lane. Rather than waste inane efforts (licensing+ticketing) that discourage bikers, let’s be bold and promote more 24/7 bike-only avenues... We need more dedicated bike-only lanes and avenues.
For the record, the first ghost bike installed in NYC was for Elizabeth Padilla. After the accident, the NYPD did not make any arrest or issue any summonses.
