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.
ebklyn…cyclists, not bikers (are you channeling PitBull Rob?) and yi:…why should we wear helmets? Read up on it first, go any other country and check out the cyclists there. Even kids don’t wear helmets. It’s so stupid to want cyclists to wear helmets without knowing anything about it (or being a cyclist, no doubt).
If cycling is to become popular, it needs to be seen as something everyone does casually, without having to wear spandex and helmets and spend $2000 on a bike. It needs to be seen as not dangerous and normal, and you won’t get that by forcing special duds.
So, it seems like people really hate bikers for some reason, and also really hate park slope stroller moms (and dads).
Some of the stupidest road behavior I’ve seen is the combo: park slope parents who ride their toddlers on the handlebars.
I was biking home from work recently (after sunset) and passed a father, without a helmet for him or his child, with no light, swerving all over the place…
I’ve bike commuted to work in the city for 6 years now and have seen enough to know that:
a) you need to wear a helmet
b) you need to be 100% alert at all times, and
c) NYC city streets are really no place to be biking with your kids (though some are better than others)
That last part is just my opinion, but an educated one having avoided many a door (narrowly), been hit (at a very low speed) by a car, and flipped (at a high speed, in traffic) because I hit a deep pot hole that I didn’t see until too late…
It doesn’t take long for a discussion about bike lanes to yield it’s first “bikers don’t obey traffic laws” comment.
When the pedestrians start obeying traffic laws, maybe the folks on bikes will… teach by example, right?
A 15 minute walk from 9th St. to Flatbush Av. vs. an hour plus wait for a bus.
So many bikes on 5th Avenue – I wish the bikers wore helmets! and obeyed some traffic laws.
So many bikes on 5th Avenue – I wish the bikers wore helmets! and obeyed some traffic laws.
Both the buses on 5th Ave and 7th Ave are so slow and scarce they might as well not exist. I too can walk the entire stretch of either avenue through Park Slope and not have one single bus pass me. When I was having to go to my doctor at NY Methodist frequently during my difficult pregnancy, I ended up spending a lot of money on car service rides because the 7th Ave bus seems to arrive only twice a day. I tried many times waiting for the bus on 7th Ave near the B/Q stop only to have to give up and waddle my way down to 6th street. Without one bus passing me, as I said.
Thanks for staying on top of this. If you hear of how we in the neighborhood can help the business owners advocate for larger loading/unloading zones, please let us know.