Take NY Back for Cars.......

We can't afford to let the non-car constituency fracture. Let's get cars out of the parks, then sort out the conflict between cyclists and pedestrians, whom are hardly innocent. I've seen countless oblivious pedestrians chatting on cell phones while crossing the park drive against the lights. I see this happen just as often as I see cyclists run red lights.

I'm a runner and a cyclist, and when I run in Central Park, I stick to the bridle path, which takes me off the park drive for most of the loop. Why not avoid the park drive when you run? There are plenty of scenic alternatives for people not on wheels.

And their behavior honestly seems malicious. I run every day in the park in the innermost lane and I've been "buzzed" by cyclists in the racing gear too many times to count. I've also looked on in horror as they have sped through crowded crosswalks against the light, sometimes coming close to killing people. I've seen several collisions with injuries where the cyclist was clearly speeding through a crosswalk against the light and at fault. Yet every time, they scream and yell at the person they hit. They also scream for people to get out of the way as they speed through.

It really doesn't matter if the cyclists find in inconvenient to stop when pedestrians are crossing in a marked crosswalk and they have the light. It's the law. Because cyclists are the most outspoken critics of the poor behavior of drivers (and I do agree it is poor), they really should follow the rules themselves.

Interesting to hear another perspective. I have certainly seen lots of tourists bicycling unsafely on the loop, but most tourists are always like that, whether on foot, bicycle or in cars. I don't think I have ever seen bicyclists in the joggers lane when cars are allowed in, in my view that should be a capital offense.

I take my kids out in the park on the loop. While both of them are capable of staying within the designated bike lane, the problem is that during car-free hours the joggers take that lane over, forcing the kids out into the traffic lanes with the fitness cyclists. Without the ability to guide themselves along the narrow path described by the bike lane, kids will veer unexpectedly, and depending on their age and experience may not look over their shoulder to see if there are oncoming bicyclists. I've had both of mine yelled at sharply by fitness cyclists in this scenario.

One solution would be to designate the middle lane for bicycles, and perhaps split it in half with instructions that faster-moving bicyclists keep to the right-most half. This would give joggers much needed space, move the bicyclists to the middle where they would be that much further from pedestrians seeking to enter the crosswalks, and allow faster and slower bicyclists to keep out of each others' way. Since DoT seems wedded to an incremental approach to reallocating space this could be the next step, with the right-most lane still allowing cars during the current schedule (you would need to preserve the current cross-overs at 72nd).

Steve - Alas, Mike and Philip are not generalizing about the behavior of cyclists in the park. I run marathons and Central Park is my main training area. I have been there as early as 3am and as late as 10pm, and when I worked uptown at 98th Street and Madison I ran many times in the middle of the day as well. This has given me the opportunity to observe traffic flow in the park (bikes and cars) for many years.

While I agree that the majority of traffic problems are caused by cars (no, they do NOT adhere to the speed limit and I've seen drivers push dangerously into the rec lane to speed past other vehicles), sadly, I have also seen hits and many near misses because cyclists were speeding in the rec lanes even when the drives were closed to traffic. In their defense, I will say that the regular cyclists who race/train (you know them by their gear and the fact that they are usually on the drive and NOT the rec lanes) are generally not a problem. The biggest problem I have seen are the tourists and casual users of the park because they do not know the bike rules. They ride blithely wherever they please at any speed; I have even dodged them on the reservoir, which is crazy! They rarely control their own bikes or their children. The many, many tourists who frequent the park are the most egregious offenders. Of the two rec lanes, the outer lane has a BIG, WHITE depiction of a BIKE, but I still find myself dodging bikes barreling up behind me or right toward me in the inner most rec lane. If I had a dollar for every time I leapt out of the way, pointed to the outside lane and shouted "Bike lane!" I would be able to retire.

Just last week as I rounded the southern end of the park I was struck on the back of my right heel. I nearly fell, but righted myself and turned around to see a stunned woman on a bike. I could scarcely believe it, but I had been struck by her front wheel. "Are you all right?" I said sharply. My inner dialog was "When I say are you all right, what I am really asking is "Are you on DRUGS? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? How could you possibly be riding so close to me when I am in the innermost rec lane and there is NO traffic on the drive?" My tone and hard stare communicated exactly what I mean though. She stuttered that she was sorry and "unused to bike riding." Um, okay. That would have been cold comfort if I had sprained or broken my ankle.

Having said ALL of that, I am THRILLED at the prospect of an extra hour in the morning and being able to run after work in a car-free Central Park. For so many years I've had to contend with breathing tailpipe emissions as I ran around the park. I often wondered if my enjoyment of running and the great outdoors wasn't ultimately going to lead to poor health! Now I can literally breathe easier. It will be a great day when traffic is banned entirely; that will be a dream come true.

You guys are way overgeneralizing. Most lopp bicyclists are just recreating or getting from points A to B at or under 15 MPH, they yield to pedestrians, there is no danger and no issue. Even most of the fitness cyclists traveling at higher speeds routinely detour, slow or stop for a pedestrian on the loop with or without the right of way. There are a hard core of fitness cyclists who do need to be reined in, they deserve any tickets they get, but banning all bicyclists because of this small group is like . . it's like . . . well, it's like calling for a ban on all cars in NYC because most of them exceed the 30 MPH limit whenever they can, run red lights, pass too close to pedestrians, fail to yield in crosswalks . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43954081@N00/sets/72157601259442941/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8meJDykMio

Having cars roaring (I think we've established that few drivers obey the speed limit in the park) by within a few feet of people, children and pets is not acceptable, fair or in this spirit of sharing you write about. And I really doubt you enjoy walking next to the cars.

I'm with bicyblebelle - cars already occupy far more than their fair share of public space here. GET OUT OF OUR PARKS!!!

Wow. I'm just going to point out that the only place cyclists are allowed in Central and Prospect Parks are on the drives. We can't go on the grass. So when you're driving through Central Park, you're kicking cyclists out. That's not sharing.

Ok, I'm also going to point out that cars use a majority of the city's public space as it is. Oh boy that's not sharing, either!

Please share the park with cyclists and joggers and rollerbladers and babies and dogs and everyone else by enjoying it without your stinky and dangerous car. Hope to see you there!