The PPW Bike-Lane Lawsuit is a Reality
The lawsuit over the Prospect Park West bike lane that’s been threatened for about a month has now been filed, and it asserts that the city acted “arbitrarily” in installing the lane and that it should be removed. Streetsblog, which has a link so you can download the filing in its entirety (PDF here), says…
The lawsuit over the Prospect Park West bike lane that’s been threatened for about a month has now been filed, and it asserts that the city acted “arbitrarily” in installing the lane and that it should be removed. Streetsblog, which has a link so you can download the filing in its entirety (PDF here), says the following about the meat and potatoes of the suit: “It argues that DOT acted in an ‘arbitrary and capricious’ manner, with conclusions made irrationally or in bad faith. It argues that the bike lane did not properly go through the necessary processes given the landmarked status of the Park Slope neighborhood and Prospect Park. And finally, it argues that an environmental review was necessary to assess the impact of the lane on the historic character of the area.” The Times’ story on the lawsuit, meanwhile, notes the political connections of the group behind the filing, who have “close ties to Iris Weinshall, the city’s transportation commissioner from 2000 to 2007 and the wife of Senator Charles E. Schumer” and that they’ve “produced e-mail correspondence…[seeking] to portray…an effort by the Transportation Department to coordinate criticism of the lane’s opponents.” A DOT spokesman tells the newspaper that the data it has released on how the lane has made Prospect Park West safer is legit. The lawsuit names the DOT and, separately, its commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, as respondents.
Lawsuit Seeks to Erase Bike Lane in New York City [NY Times]
Opponents Sue City Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane [Streetsblog]
Lawsuit Filed Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane [PS Patch]
The places where bike lanes are dangerous are on side streets such as mine where there really isn’t room to comply. If public safety is the issue, get rid of the lanes on tertiary streets, not main thoroughfares.
i guess i was thinking it would have been nicer had they seperated the bike lane with a long line of cobblestones or something instead of paint. *rob*
At the risk of going way overboard, I hope all those (here and elsewhere) who complain about difficulty of crossing 2-way bike lanes, the minority of bikers who ride dangerously and having to occasionally drive around a car double-parked to drop off passengers realize this is what the culmination is: a lawsuit by those who take all those idiotic statements and act on it.
People need a dose of tolerance and acceptance of others.
“i have nothing against bike lanes, but that that shade of green they chose is bloody awful. they couldnt have picked a nicer color?”
no – it has to be the most abrasive color possible so cars don’t drive in it. remember, an intelligence test isn’t given to be able to get a drivers’ license.
*rob*, you sound like Private Benjamin picking out her army uniform. “Excuse me, but is green the only color these come in?”
(I’d LOL you, but then you’d yell at me.)
i have nothing against bike lanes, but that that shade of green they chose is bloody awful. they couldnt have picked a nicer color?
*rob*
A lot of us on PPW support the bike lane. This lawsuit is much ado about nothing. The street is demonstrably safer now.
And I don’t understand the complaints about aesthetics — I think the street looks grand. If the NIMBYs want historical accuracy they should bring back the streetcars!
‘and it asserts that the city acted “arbitrarily” in installing the lane and that it should be removed’
translation:
“Waaaaaah, the city is spending on someone that isn’t me.waaaaaah”
CGar, so sad. All this time I thought it was to provide counsel to those that don’t have an estate lawyer on retainer. Herrumph.