They were about two inches in diameter and there were three of them: one to protect a cyclist’s northbound right turn up Chrystie; at the bottom of the steep hill at the foot of bridge towards Forsyth; and on the Brooklyn side where the path opens onto Sands St under the east edge of the bridge, about centered in the bike waiting area, also I guess to slow folks down.

I should’ve shot pictures. It’s interesting that two of the three seemed placed to deter rude biking. And that northbound right onto Chrystie gets my hackles way up, it still feels easy to get squashed by a van coming off the bridge who feels like it’s his road. The first in-street bollard in NYC should totally go there.

What could work is a low barrier above the path, something that does damage to any can trying to get through. The hard part here is choosing the right height; a tall adult is higher than most automobiles, so you can only put up a block that keeps trucks and vans out. But that’s a start

There is one law for us, the lay citizenry; there is another law for the privileged factions, who’ve bought government; and there’s no law at all for the regime itself.

They’re not exempt from bullets, which is – unfortunately – where I am increasingly convinced this will wind up.

They don’t. Reposting

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/parking/park_commercial_fleet.shtml

So your casually riding down this lane on your bike in broad daylight. As you approach the bollard you notice that an oncoming cyclist will pass the bollard at the same moment you will. Just before you reach the bollard a wayward pedestrian, garbage can, dog, tumbleweed, etc, (pick one) wanders into your path. You try to avoid this person/thing but you end up plowing into the bollard instead since you have no other “out”.

This is just one scenario in which a totally alert cyclist, in optimal conditions can crash into a bollard. Most bicycle and pedestrian planners now frown upon their use to keep motor vehicle out a controlled space since they usually pose a greater crashing hazard for cyclists and other path/trail users then they actually end up helping. Not to mention all the maintenance that goes along with having to replace broken ones and the hassle to move them to get authorized equipment into the protected space.

I know that the width of street cleaning vehicles currently imposes a minimum width of bike lanes, but that seems to be an argument for a different approach to cleaning, not a reason for building bike lanes that are wide enough to accommodate a truck. Besides, even though I’d love to see protected bike lanes everywhere, I believe in the basic ethical principle of not taking more than you need, and an extravagantly dimensioned bike lane seems to violate that.

Since it’s a two way bike lane (which is why it’s wide enough to drive a truck down) I’m not sure why the bollards are such a problem for bikers. A couple of stripes of reflective tape or some glass bead paint, and it should be much more visible than a boulder (and effective, I would think)
I don’t know the plastic bollards, I was just thinking the steel pipe type with a “cotterpin” and a padlock.

Maybe three heavy duty steel bollards but certainly not those lightweight plastic ones they’re constantly replacing on the West Side Greenway.

Several weeks ago I was riding through Pelham Bay Park, on my way back from City Island, where someone had placed a couple of large boulders in the bike lane. That’s one way to keep trucks out but it can be really dangerous for cyclists at night. Between my 5 LED blinkie and my new brake pads I was barely able to stop in time.

It may stop motor vehicle traffic (probably not in NYC) but it is more likely that a bicyclist will crash into it first. Even a crashing into a plastic bollard on your bike would be enough to really ruin your day, week or even life.

Enforcement is the key but somehow the largest police force in the US (larger than the next 3 PD’s combined) doesn’t seem to have enough resources to properly enforce traffic rules.

Think again:

http://www.pilomat.com/catalog/pages.php?page=home&language=en

It’s probably worth getting the lane designers and the police together to discuss this, because the lane people will be fairly unhappy about their work being wasted, and they can put more pressure on the police to act. But you do need to act. The only bike infrastructure that exists is that which is defended. Aggressively.