Daily Bike Forecast — by Bike Snob NYC​

August 1st, 2019: Sorry NIMBYs, No TRO For CPW

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Appropriate weather for the first day of August:

Thursday Weather

Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. North wind 5 to 7 mph.

Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.

Sunrise 5:52am

Sunset 8:12pm

All this Green Wave stuff might lead you to believe the NYPD is shifting all its ticketing energy towards drivers, but rest assured nothing could be further from the truth:

If you've been flustered by the large sign in the new East River Greenway bike lane, the DOT would like you to know that the lane is not open yet and that when it is there will be jersey barriers:

By way of communicating this they have added a sign on one end as well as some barrels:

East Side

[Photo: @leroys_dog]

Though given the sheer number of orange barrels scattered around the city at any given time its difficult to infer any meaning from them at this point.

Yesterday Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, Transportation Alternatives, and Bike New York held a press conference proposing the transformation of Long Island City into the city's first "accessible bike neighborhood:"

Some attendees experienced the current lack of accessibility firsthand:

In other bike lane news, a judge denied the temporary restraining order that would have blocked the Central Park West bike lane:

This is terrible news for the poor unfortunate residents of 25 Central Park West, who fear the environmental catastrophe that will surely unfold when the city places a bicycle lane next to a park:

A group of condo owners on the Upper West Side are suing the city over its plan to add a protected bike lane along Central Park West.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by residents of 25 Central Park West in Manhattan Supreme Court, argues that the city did not complete an environmental review for its plans as required by state law. 

And who above all are dedicated to preserving the city's public space for the people, by allowing car owners to store their property there for free:

The lawsuit argues that the mayor’s plan ignores detractors who say bike lanes strip the city of prime real estate and “favor a tiny minority of citizens by handing over vast swathes of the city’s public space.”

Yes, there is no better way to take advantage of the city's streetscape than by getting down on your belly and slithering underneath a Mercedes:

Tell them this evening what they can do with their lawsuit:

Still, everybody knows how dangerous bicyclists are--just ask Bob Holden, or more accurately his wife:

Bob Holden: (My wife) says that she has to watch out for cyclists more than motorists — they’re both bad, let’s put it that way. Some cyclists, especially in Manhattan and all over the city, I would say the vast majority, I see don’t observe traffic etiquette, endangering pedestrians and endangering themselves. Of course, dealing with a 4,000-pound vehicle versus someone on a bike, there’s no doubt about it. But I think everyone needs to observe traffic rules. Don’t argue that bikers are obeying the laws because they’re not. In Downtown Brooklyn, a bike hit my car coming down Jay Street, and I had a bike hit me almost three or four times within one week — they come flying down Jay Street, go through lights, don’t care about pedestrians.

That bike hit his car like that iceberg hit the Titanic.

But he is for protected bike lanes:

BH: I welcome protected lanes. I want the community to have input, there’s going to be opinions. We have a low percentage of cyclists in this area. If you think everybody rides bikes you’re mistaken. A lot of people in my district, I have a lot of seniors, they can’t. There are other solutions, other designs where we don’t have to lose parking, that’s always a problem. I welcome proposals, I want the community to have input, I don’t want things shoved down people’s throats. A protected bike lane is safer for everybody — that’s a better way to go, it’s a lot of capital, a lot of money, a lot of planning. This conversation should have been started years ago. 

And even open to "breaking the car culture:"

BH: If the mayor wants to invest in more public transit to get us out of cars, I welcome that. I’m not for that unless I get public transportation, viable options.

There's always common ground buried under there somewhere.

Finally, what is the city doing about dooring?  

Michael Padwee, whose son Aaron was fatally doored into traffic while biking in Long Island City last year, has experienced the NYPD's indifference firsthand. The spokesperson's comments are "enraging," he said, and served as further proof that the city does not take dooring seriously.

"When my son was killed, the police actually said to me that woman was wrong in throwing her door open like she did," he told Gothamist on Tuesday. "But they also said that the [District Attorney, Richard Brown] was not going to charge her with anything, so there's essentially nothing that could be done."

Basically, the only thing between you and that car door flinging open are some optional decals and the kernel of hope that one day drivers will adopt the Dutch Reach:

Since 2012, the DOT and the Taxi & Limousine Commission have made "Look for Cyclists" window decals available—but not mandatory—for professional drivers, along with an accompanying PSA that plays in TaxiTV. For the first time this year, the city's transportation department also included questions about the Dutch Reach in their July survey of drivers.

But those efforts are not reaching as many New Yorkers as they could be, says Charney, in part due to apparent disinterest from Mayor Bill de Blasio. Despite adoption in other cities' Vision Zero programs, the mayor only learned about the method last month, when someone called into his weekly segment on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show to ask why the city wasn't promoting the Dutch Reach.

Until then, we remain pinballs.