Behold the Prospect Park West Bike Lane!
Huge news, courtesy of a Park Slope tipster: The much-anticipated and hotly-debated Prospect Park West bike lane is upon us. Evidently the lines, shown here in this photo, were laid down just this morning. Photo by Joanna Oltman Smith
Huge news, courtesy of a Park Slope tipster: The much-anticipated and hotly-debated Prospect Park West bike lane is upon us. Evidently the lines, shown here in this photo, were laid down just this morning.
Photo by Joanna Oltman Smith
YES YES YES
BIKEZ69696969
“Even if there were the same amount of bike lanes and bike consideration that exists in Copenhagen, Portland and Amsterdam there would not be the same amount of cyclists due to the large area of the city and the weather. ”
maybe people would ride greater distances if there were great bike lanes…exactly like in the places you’ve mentioned. In amsterdam people regularly ride a 30 minute distance to work…i would too if i didnt have to worry about dying along the way. And much like these places NYC is fairly flat making for easy pedaling. Maybe all these great bikes lanes are why i didnt see too many overweight people in amsterdam & copenhagen or why denmark is considered the happiest country. Truly a model for NYC to strive for in more ways than one.
I ride just about every day, often 20 or more miles at a time. A small percentage of my rides are inside of a bike lane, possibly less than 5% of my total distance is done in a designated lane.
Do I like bike lanes? Not especially. They’re nice to have, sure, but I don’t think they are necessary. I’ve never thought this area could really use a dedicated bike lane and I didn’t cry over the loss on Bedford. (The one on Kent is so much better!)
With all these infrastructure changes to accommodate cyclists, I feel like there needs to be a campaign towards educating cyclists on how to ride defensively and appropriately on the road. I can’t tolerate “bike salmon” riding the wrong way down a one way street, red light runners, and any other cyclist who has a disregard for the rules of the road.
I feel that if bikes are to have the same rights as cars, they need to act like cars. There are far too many wishy-washy fair-weather cyclists clogging up the roads, posing a danger to themselves and traffic as well. You can’t just cruise up on the sidewalk, dart between parked cars, or go North on 2nd Ave. Yeah, NYC has a ton of bad drivers, but I see more cyclists behaving badly than I do cars.
All I have to say is, respect the road and it will respect you. I don’t have a negative attitude towards cars and I’m not an evangelical cyclist. I just like to ride my bike where I please and do it as safely as possible. If you feel uncomfortable riding through a certain area, take some time to map a route that will fit your comfort level better. We can do without many of the bike lanes as long as we show a little responsibility on our part. In the thousands of miles that I have logged in the five boros, I’ve had maybe 10 close calls. It is all about being alert and making yourself visible.
I live near PPW and I think the primary concern ought to be traffic calming, as many vehicles travel entirely too fast on the street. My belief is that eliminating a lane of traffic will be beneficial in that regard, since there simply will be less room to pass and weave in and out.
Looks like a great way to safeguard bike traffic. In Beijing this the norm. Too bad it’s not two-way on this particular stretch, but I’m sure it will be used as such.
To Fuplease, et al
Yes, the bike lanes in the park are one way. Big deal – advocate for splitting then and making them TWO way. Having to go FIVE whole blocks to another exit doesn’t seem like a great distance to such an avid biker. (I ride from Crown Hts to Bay Ridge to get a haircut.) I’m sure the entrance/exit problem could also be easily solved.
Also, as others have pointed out, bikes are allowed to go virtually everyplace that cars can go, so ride on 8th Ave, 7th Ave, etc. The point I was making was that I have biked all of these streets without specifically-marked bike lanes and I’m pretty sure you can do so also.
Just because you want to ride a bike (which I also do on a nearly daily basis) doesn’t mean that other, who perhaps are not physically able to do so, might not need to drive a car or take a taxi.
As to the park being closed between 1 and 6, for chrissake, how much auto traffic do you generally encounter along PPW during those hours?
I’ve spent time in Germany and Paris. In many German towns, bikes share the sidewalks with pedestrians (in marked lanes).
Pushystrollermom, I’d like to apologize for being sexist. You are right, I should have said helicopter parenting.
Contrary to your opinion I don’t believe I have been spewing “hooey” all day long. My opinions are as valid as the rest.
fuplease, yes I have commented maybe 10 times at THE MOST on streets blog. You’ve got a good eye for recognizing my rant style. I guess I rant and rave because I feel strongly about these issues, and even if I agree with them in principle I find the lack of open-mindedness stupid. So I take the extreme.
BTW- Is it trolling if I am contributing a contrary opinion to the mainstream (every time I comment). I don’t see the point to commenting when all you are doing is agreeing.
pushystrollermom – i agree with everything you said. I don’t believe i said anything to the contrary.
People, people. This bike lane is a beautiful thing. Period. Safer, slower car traffic. More folks on bikes, saving the earth and their health with each turn of the pedal.
bmfesq & dirty hipster: There is no such thing as a “car lane.” It is share and share alike out there. A bike is legally able to go anywhere a car can unless otherwise posted or insanely dangerous. The Vehicle and Traffic Law of New York State section 1231 says, “Bicyclists are granted all of the rights and are subject to all of the duties of the driver of a motor vehicle.” That means, yes, a bike can claim a spot in the main roadway if that’s the only place for the bike.
someguy: Your first post was totally sexist. I’d like to “helicopter mother” your you-know-what for all the hooey you’ve been spewing this afternoon. I’m not impressed by your statistics. It’s time for a change. What’s the point of spouting old data?