Burg Bikers Protest But Keep it Modest
On Saturday night a group of bicyclists planned a topless ride to protest the DOT’s removal of the Bedford Avenue bike lane but, faced with the frigid elements, they ended up keeping their shirts on. As shown in the Daily News’ video above, some of the riders wore plastic breasts outside their jackets; riding topless…
On Saturday night a group of bicyclists planned a topless ride to protest the DOT’s removal of the Bedford Avenue bike lane but, faced with the frigid elements, they ended up keeping their shirts on. As shown in the Daily News’ video above, some of the riders wore plastic breasts outside their jackets; riding topless was supposed to protest the Orthodox community’s objections to the former lane’s scantily clad riders. The quote of the day, though, came from a cop who told Gothamist, “I want to see some boobs!” The Daily News estimates that around 15 people took part in the ride, while the AP called it “dozens.” Before the event occurred, Transportation Alternatives issued a statement denouncing it: “A bike lane on Bedford Avenue is about transportation and road safety. Rhetoric or acts that pit neighbors against one another are not just irrelevant to this discussion, they are flat-out offensive.”
Topless Bike Protest Called Off [NY Daily News]
“Topless” Bedford Bike Lane Protest Draws Clothed Cyclists [Gothamist]
Bike Lane Protest Rides On [AP via NY Post]
TA Denounces Naked Bike Ride [Voice]
The only thing I can even conceivably imagine you’re referring to is the statement about Hasidim intimidating bikers because they don’t think you’re allowed to ride a bike there anymore. But this isn’t a “nasty comment”. It’s a fact that has been reported by many cyclists. Your statement that a comment like this shows “lack of moral sense” is, frankly, offensive. That you would stoop this low to use the bias card where it clearly does not fit is shameful.
My “nasty comments about Chasidim”? What comments were those, pray tell? I made no such comments.
It is not relevant what race, religion or sect the residents of the neighborhood are. All that matters is that they used their political influence to *reduce* traffic safety in the area.
None of what you are saying makes the slightest bit of sense from a traffic safety perspective. The DOT did not “recognize the safety hazard of this particular bike lane”. That’s a lie, and you know it. This removal was ordered by the mayor’s office for political reasons, as has been confirmed by independent reporters like WNYC.
Please be honest in your posts. You have not been so far.
zinka-I would not talk about moral sense if I were you. Your nasty comments about Chasidim shows your lack of moral sense, and your comments about applying statistics is evidence of your absolute lack of practical sense as well. While no one discredits statistics, you must consider the implications for each area. We will not (perhaps you will?) install a traffic light on the interior of a one way street and we will not install a stop sign in Times Square, despite the countless statistics which show that traffic lights and stop signs increase safety. Bike Lanes in general may increase safety, according to the statistics; you cannot cite one single statistic, however, that it increases safety on such a unique artery within a highly populated area.
Besides the fatal accident that happened a couple of weeks ago, there were other -thankfully not fatal- accidents that occurred to children and elderly, that can be attributed to the additional bike lane which added to the confusion when stepping out on the street. The local South-Williamsburg community leaders have long voiced their concerns about the bike lane posing a danger to children, the recent events just proved the legitimacy of this issue.
Most sensible people agree that the DOT did the right thing by recognizing the safety hazard of this particular bike lane, albeit a little late, and rerouting it to Kent Ave. Only a selfish person will argue that it is worth to risk the safety of an entire community for a preferred route of a few hundred cyclists.
It is never too late; you should have NEVER posted on this bog, or any other bog, with such a biased attitude.
One single crash, statistically speaking, says nothing about the safety of a street in general. It is not worth arguing with anyone who thinks otherwise — you need to understand basic mathematics and statistics in order to argue about them, and it is quite clear that you do not. What you are saying is nonsense, statistically, morally, and in every other way. I am done with this thread.
zinka-No study was ever made on the affect of bike lanes that run through on the main artery of an overpopulated area, and right in fron of numerous school buildings.
I still maintain, that besides of making it difficult to drop off children, it is extremely difficult for the children themselves to manuver their way from their homes to school.
Regardless if the recent fatality was because of the bike lane, or despite of the bike lane, it discredits the studies that show it improves safety for “everyone”.
abak, obviously bike lanes can’t prevent all traffic deaths. Duh. They increase safety by narrowing car lanes (causing slower speeds), and by providing a predictable place for bikes to ride. Don’t trust me — trust the dozens of studies that have shown this.
It doesn’t even make sense to say that a bike lane could contribute to a crash where a child was hit by a car. It’s ludicrous.
Please explain: how do the bike lanes increase safety for everyone when a local child was tragically killed by a car (it happened on the Jewish Sabbath so it was clearly a driver from another area) while there was still a bike lane?
If Bedford Ave would have been extra wide and contained a buffer zone between the car traffic and the bike lane, as is the case on Bedford Ave in Bedstuy or Kent Ave, then perhaps bike lane wouldn’t compromise the safety. However Bedford Ave in South Willi is much narrower, it’s more congested by the additional school buses and pedestrians, thus eliminating the bike lane which is one less traffic element was a legitimate community issue.
Hit by a car, not hit by a bike. So what does that have to do with bike lanes or “concerns” over them? It makes no sense. The community should be trying to reduce car dependence if they care about street safety, not remove bike lanes. What’s really dangerous is that a lot of the Chasidim now think it’s illegal to ride a bike without a bike lane, and physically intimidate cyclists who ride on Bedford.
And the “Flushing connection” is not even planned to be a bike lane. It’s a shared lane. Which will not do anything to make that awful street any safer.