As you probably know, the NYPD is handing out hefty $270 tickets to cyclists who roll through red lights in Central Park—even if there isn't a pedestrian in the intersection. Today, bike blogger Chasing Wheels posted this video showing just how annoying and absurd it is for cyclists to come to a complete stop at every red light, of which there are potentially 46 (if you've got unbelievably terrible luck and get stuck at red at every intersection).
There were 127 accidents in Central Park last year that involved a cyclist, but as Chasing Wheels points out, we have no details about what caused these accidents, and how many even involved pedestrians and, if so, who was at fault. If the NYPD is taking safety seriously in Central Park, shouldn't they also ticket pedestrians who jaywalk through red lights, too? Transportation Alternatives has been negotiating with the Central Park Conservancy and the NYPD to change the traffic lights to flashing yellow during car-free hours. And outside of Central Park, many cyclists advocate treating all red lights as flashing yellow, which would allow the bike rider to cautiously pedal through if the intersection was clear.
And speaking of Transportation Alternatives, Councilman Erich Ulrich is criticizing the group for encouraging cyclists who oppose his mandatory bike registration proposal to fax his office. "Transportation Alternatives promotes itself as a champion of environmentally friendly causes, yet they inundated my office with 4,840 paper faxes—99 percent of which came from people who don't even live in my district," Ulrich tells the NY Post. "These kinds of tactics are anything but 'green'—they're just wasteful." Our bad, we didn't realize Ulrich's proposal would only affect cyclists who reside in his district! Guess it's just a provincial matter that's none of our business.
Transportation Alternatives' Noah Budnick tells us, "Per Ulrich's request, they get faxed to his City Hall office. The overwhelming response to Ulrich's draconian proposal shows just how much New Yorkers oppose it."
