Updates for Manhattan Bridge Bicyclists
Workers have been, um, at work at the base of the Manhattan Bridge bike lane in Brooklyn for a while now. We stopped to talk to them over the weekend, and they said they are building a barrier wall for the bike lane, separating it from Sands Street as well as the grassy hill on…
Workers have been, um, at work at the base of the Manhattan Bridge bike lane in Brooklyn for a while now. We stopped to talk to them over the weekend, and they said they are building a barrier wall for the bike lane, separating it from Sands Street as well as the grassy hill on the north side. They also said they are making slight improvements to the lane itself. In other news, automobiles are still confusing the new elevated bike lane along Sands Street for parking:
Actually, I don’t think you’re being racist, tyburg6. I think your question was stupid.
“ENY – yea good point you make, so what if the guy hits me – that makes him right, right?”
No, that makes him wrong. It’s illegal to bike the wrong way down one-way street. But what does him being Latino have to do with it? I happen to think the notion that riding the wrong way down a one-way street is a particularly Latino phenomenon is ridiculous, got it? I didn’t say it was appropriate or legal or “right” to ride the wrong way down a one-way street. Got it?
I don’t find tybur’s question racist at all: lets play 20 questions….
Are delivery guys typically the most reckless of all cyclists? YES
Are delivery guys typically latin american? YES
He was just thinking outside the box a little on a possible explanation
**looks out office window, sees delivery guy riding on sidewalk**
ENY – yea good point you make, so what if the guy hits me – that makes him right, right?
ENY thinks I’m being racist or what not… When in actuality I’m looking for a reason *not* to be completely annoyed with a delivery guy coming at me head on in the bike lane built for one-way traffic.
And did I ever say *all* latino guys? I think I was VERY clear in my description. I’m talking about recent or first generation folks that still have sets of expectations and behaviors associated with their “country of origin.” I mean that in a real sense, not in a heritage sense… furthermore, I’m not placing a VALUE judgement on any of the behavior or expectation — it’s just that the CONTEXT has changed. In the current context, riding against the flow of traffic is not acceptable.
So ENY, don’t be a dick and read racist or some other malicious intent into things like this.
OK, ditto. Why don’t you just join tyburg6 and ask a few latino delivery guys? I’m sure you guys will receive an informative answer.
Its not a completely ludicrous suggestion. In my old country when walking on a road without a sidewalk it was the law to walk aginst the flow of traffic only.
“I am wondering if there is some actual cultural/societal basis for their choice to ride pretty much exclusively against traffic…. which is my experience in observing this “phenomenon” (which is less limited than you portray)”
OK, great. Since you need to know about this “less-limited” occurrence, which regardless is NOT a phenomenon, why don’t you simply ask some of them?
Walk up to a few Latino delivery guys today and ask, “Is there something in your (or your family’s) country of origin that actually *requires* you to bike the wrong way down the street?”
Go ahead, try it. Let me know what kind of responses you get.
ENY — I didn’t *conclude* anything… I was asking a question to find out if the guys on delivery bikes hail from cultures/societies where bicycles are *expected* to ride against traffic. I wanted to know if my experience was a reflection of what they think is “correct” or if they are just riding against traffic because it’s better for them.
I will repeat, this seems to be almost the *rule* for bicycle delivery guys (who tend to be latino immigrants or first generation)…. while your hipsters and other folks, I bet the direction they ride is not as consistent. Yeah, of course I’ve seen it. I’ve also seen the punk kids do it too… ya know those kids that haven’t ever used a trash receptacle. The difference is that they are being assholes and inconsiderate, and don’t give a crap if they are causing traffic problems.
I don’t think the delivery guys are being inconsiderate — i’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. I am wondering if there is some actual cultural/societal basis for their choice to ride pretty much exclusively against traffic…. which is my experience in observing this “phenomenon” (which is less limited than you portray)
yes tyburg, it’s offensive. but as with many sterotypes, there’s some truth. many countries have much more chaotic traffic patterns, no lanes, marginal enforcement and a free-wheeling ethos, than here. coming from India myself, I find it ridiculous that with the volume of traffic here, people get worked up about cyclists going the wrong way on *residential* streets. get a life, folks.
this is not to excuse the ass&&&& cyclists in spandex who speed along shouting at people, but to say that someone like me, plodding along at my crawl speed on my way home on my 1 way street, is no more a menace than that mom pushing a stroller.