Fifth Avenue Bike Lane Debate, Continued
The news earlier this week that the Fifth Avenue BID in Park Slope wants to do away with the Class 2 bike lane, blaming an uptick in the number of tickets delivery trucks were getting on it, Streets Blog sent a correspondent out to talk to a bunch of merchants on the commercial stretch and…
The news earlier this week that the Fifth Avenue BID in Park Slope wants to do away with the Class 2 bike lane, blaming an uptick in the number of tickets delivery trucks were getting on it, Streets Blog sent a correspondent out to talk to a bunch of merchants on the commercial stretch and couldn’t find much support for the BID’s angle. “I haven’t heard a word or noticed anything,” said Emily Isaac, owner of Trois Pommes Patisserie, which receives about ten deliveries per week. “As far as the delivery guys, no one’s complained to me that because of the bike riders they’re getting tickets,” said the owner of ‘Snice at the corner of 3rd Street. There was consensus on one matter though: There need to be more designated delivery zones. The space in front of The Associated, for example, is not long enough to accommodate the big rigs that come to deliver milk several times a week; as a result, the trucks end up sticking out into the bus stop and getting hit with a ticket.
So many of these issues are just a matter of the “entitlement” syndrome. If drivers remembered they’re enjoying sitting inside a warm/cold, dry place while pedestrians are dealing w/ weather; if cyclists realized that pedestrians aren’t looking for traffic from the ‘wrong’ direction & can’t move quickly; if stroller moms figured out that standing in the middle of the pavement blocks people from getting by – most of the complaints on here would be obviated.
I always used to get mad at people who suggest you shouldn’t be talking about something if you haven’t experienced it, but comments by ya and rob make me want to say it (to be fair, comments by many parents are ridiculously over-protective also.)
“dump their kids” on a bike, rob? what the devil does that mean? Kids need to be exposed to life and learn about dangers, and if you keep them sheltered they’ll never do so. One of the beauties of living in NYC is precisely that kids become self-reliant at an early age. Besides, kids under 16 are ALLOWED to ride on the sidewalk, and if you thnk that’s unsafe you shouldn’t have kids.
young archi total agreeance. there are so many people on my block who dump their kids on their bikes. it’s insane. then they get hit and complain about cars and pedestrians.
ive never had an issue with a stroller on the street tho. there are just as many strollers up in harlem as there are in park slope, cept they dont cost 1000 bux.
this bike issue tho is dead. someone said earlier that it brings the worst out in people. weird. ive decided to give it all an open mind. bitterness causes ulcers.
*rob*
Yes Denton – the only logical conclusion one can reach after determining that NYC streets are generally too dangerous for kids to be riding their bikes on…is to keep them at home, because obviously there is nothing in-between…
Stop being a troll
“I guess kids just have to stay home these days. Life is too dangerous, better to play games on line.”
Or… you could go to a park. That’s something else you could do. There are several of them.
I just dont see biking as so glorious I’d want to risk my kid’s neck riding around in NYC traffic. A small concession to the realities of living in the city.
nsr fits well into my groupd, so you’d stop driving because you heard of a fatal car accident?
It’s the perception, not reality, denton, if you were being serious. My 11-yr old has been walking around for almost 2 years by now, and several of his classmates take the bus and one the subway for over a year (remember the flap about that kid in Manhattan who took the subway by himself and his mother was excoriated in the blogs? Please).
Parents (and cycle-averse people) are terminally risk-averse nowadays. If its not helmets, its worries about stairs, railings, lead paint and CFL mercury.
“I guess kids just have to stay home these days. Life is too dangerous, better to play games on line.”
Sadly true. Look no further than that white bike you reminded us of in the other thread.
“c) NYC city streets are really no place to be biking with your kids (though some are better than others)”
Have a friend in Bedford, I once asked her about her kids cycling. She doesn’t let her kids out on the roads. ‘Too much traffic, and too fast’.
I guess kids just have to stay home these days. Life is too dangerous, better to play games on line.