jeebusaurousrex

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/ny...ty/08bike.html

Stacy

Thanks for posting. Great read!!

nycwtorres

This is a great article about the changing culture of biking and acceptance in NYC.

I strongly agree with the following point made.
"Meanwhile, another biker was about to pass him, and pedestrians in the intersection now scattered like deer. And I was thinking, “No wonder they hate us. Because they do hate us, they being nonbikers and us being biker”"

Bikers are being given an opportunity to have some safe options.. don't be a jerk and ruin it for everyone else.

jyossarian

Regarding his suggestions: 1. No. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Maybe.

So peds hate us. You know, the peds that cross w/o looking against the light in front of on rushing cars, trucks and bikes. That's ok, I hate bikers and drivers when I'm a ped, I hate bikers and peds when I drive and I hate drivers and peds when I bike. And don't take this seriously. I'm just kidding.

nycwtorres

Funny but very true, this applies to everyone, and if you deny it you are just lying to yourself.

sounddevisor

jyossarian -

Why "no" to number 1 (stopping at major intersections?)

And by the way, I hate everyone all the time, whether I'm driving, riding, or walking. And that includes you.

Stacy

I haters

sorry I couldn't resist.

vincentnyc

what about clueless peds that door bikers without looking, clueless peds that slow u down cuz they jaywalk, clueless peds who wait and walk in the bike lane etc.? sometimes clueless peds are more annoying than those crazy cabs drivers.

nycwtorres

so that Darwinism can have it's due course.

botto 

"peds?" "u?" "cuz?"

Lucky07

Awhile back I did an experiment. Instead of blowing through lights that were 'clear' (no cars or peds in sight) I stopped at every single light on my 30 minute commute.

The wait at a red light averaged around 15 seconds. In total, waiting at lights added about 3 minutes to my ride. That's something I can live with.

FrankieV

I think we're on a roll right now with people backing us who didn't back us before.
If we'd like it to continue we need public opinion of cyclists to be a positive one.
Blowing through lights and clipping pedestrians just won't help our cause.
Of course there are those whose minds will never be changed..just can't help that.

buzzman

Great article! When I used to ride in NYC in the late 80's and into the 90's I was always thought of as such an extremist. I was regaled with stories of friends who'd been killed, disabled or simply smashed about riding in the city and that I was "insane".

It's so much better now and this article captures much of it.

Though, I have to say, on the Brooklyn Bridge what is so effin' difficult to under stand about "BIKE LANE" on one side and pedestrians on the other. Even the geese that straddle the bike path I ride into Boston have figured out to stay out of the way of the bikes.

lesiz

Not that there isn't the occasional exception, but I find almost universal acceptance from the public, be they peds or smog-bomb drivers. Certainly most motor vehicle drivers are more polite to me than they are to their fellow MVD's.

People generally like bicycles and cyclists. Bicycles are good memories of childhood. It's a really green sport. On the road we're the underdog. America loves to see the underdog survive and thrive.

During century rides people will wave and cheer us on.

But then there's those few exceptions, and they tend to be "memorable" for us. I find them to be very few.

That's the situation here in California according to my experience. I think it probable that this pertains throught the states, hopefully including NYNY.

brooklyncyclist

Your optimism is probably typical of SoCal and I hope you don't lose it, but public attitudes toward cyclists vary a great deal from city to city, region to region. One needs to read only a few rants from BFers across the country and the rest of the world to understand this. Some areas are very bike-friendly. There are an alarming number of communities that don't tolerate bikes well at all, and there are far too many stories of cyclists getting harrassed, screamed at, run off the road, etc. NYC, I think, is better than most in terms of acceptance. We've come a long way here, but we still have a long way to go.

KitN

Agreed. What would help us go further is our fellow biking brethren not being total lawless jacktards.

Yield to peds (even the jaywalking-numbskulled-clueless-ones), obey traffic laws, signal your intent, use a bell/horn/whistle/etc to alert people of your presence, be visible-- not a bike ninja with a death wish and enjoy your ride. It's that simple.

timmhaan

it's probably the same geese, so they learn over time. the issue with tourists is that there is always a fresh batch of them who've never stepped foot on the bridge before. every day new batch.

jyossarian

You wish. I stop when there's oncoming traffic. If there's none, I keep going. This is true for most people riding bikes in NYC.

jeebusaurousrex

My personal feeling is that you naturally learn how to deal with the very unique situation that is riding a bike in NYC without dying or causing bodily harm to yourself and others.

Personal example: One afternoon, I happened upon a poor guy on the Brooklyn Bridge (the cement part) who had just done an endo and smashed his face open. This taught me several valuable lessons, 1) Always wear a helmet, 2) speeding on the Brooklyn Bridge crowded with tourists means certain doom, 3) learn how to brake without flipping over.

There are plenty of other examples, such as almost being doored, nearly getting run over, dodging oblivious pedestrians (a creature that I am guilty of being from time to time), etc.

So I think saddle time is the most effective way of becoming a safe rider. Unfortunately because of the large numbers of new riders, we'll be seeing a lot of sidewalk riding, salmoning, riding without lights at night, and other generally dumb things for a while. The good news is that once this awkward stage is over, we'll be in bike utopia! Right? Right??

Bacciagalupe

I happen to think that path is poorly designed for mixing pedestrians and cyclists, of any speed. It's too narrow; there's no safe way to segregate the peds and cyclists; it's also very crowded, especially on the weekends.

I don't think there's much you can do about it, other than either use the Williamsburg Bridge, or cross the BB with caution and a bell.

zacster

The easy solution to the BB problem is to use the Manhattan Bridge. The bike path there is mostly empty of walkers, which are on a separate path separated from the bike lane by 4 subway tracks and 3 lanes of traffic, not just a yellow line.

Now that they've made Chrystie St into a bike lane it also leaves you in a good spot for going uptown. The only advantage to the BB is the access to the west side bikeway, and even that isn't so great.

I mostly agreed with what was said, we are more bike friendly here than in the past.

timmhaan

my only issue with the manhattan bridge is all the broken glass. other than that, it's a much less stressful ride.

sukram

Talking about bridge and MUP design, I don't think the "cyclists on one side and peds on the other" makes any sense when both the cyclists and peds are supposed to go in both directions in such a small space.

I think it makes a lot more sense to "keep to the right" like we do on the road. I don't have any kind words for the ped/bike split because it doesn't leave enough room for bikes to even pass each other half the time. Get rid of the lines and put up some signs that say keep right, pass left.

vincentnyc

what about williamsburg bridge?

Stacy

Take it the same way as you would a red light - as a suggestion Tourists get to hang out on the South Side where they can see the South Street Seaport, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Heights and Lower Manhattan. Bikes stay to the north side where they can get past all that a little easier. It may not adhere to the general rules of the road but they probably never envisioned the Brooklyn Bridge would be a popular as it is when they planned it.