ex city native: So, you think that screeching cars and trucks who use Manhattan as a cut-through, clog our streets, run red lights, and hit pedestrians are NOT “inhospitable to pedestrians?” Yet it’s BIKES that are the problem?

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

I’m a lifelong resident of Manhattan. I’m leaving the city after almost 60 years to relocate to the suburbs because I think the quality of life in NYC has deteriorated severely. Out of control bikes pose a clear and present danger to my safety on a daily basis, and I think that our mayor has gone too far without enforcing the laws.

It’s obvious to me that after being rebuffed on congestion pricing, Bloomberg has decided to eliminate cars from our streets by any means necessary, even if it means making them inhospitable to pedestrians, and destroying small businesses by eliminating parking.

NYC as a haven for only the rich will not be the wonderful tapestry that it has been since the turn of the last century. NYC without that diversity is as interesting as Topeka.

Bye.

In the first video several of the shots of large numbers of cyclists are from the Summer Streets program. Not exactly a dailyu occurence.

Look at your video again and see that the majority of examples you cite are delivery people from restaurants. Something you need to address directly and not cast such a wide net of accusations.

Though I’m a cyclist who heartily agrees with Ian Turner, I also agree that we need to better follow the rules. I’m not opposed to the occasional ‘jay-biking’ under the same conditions that pedestrians jay walk (after looking for both cars AND pedestrians – cyclists often ignore the latter), but salmoning, riding quickly on sidewalks and darting through intersections really are dangerous and unnecessary. I eagerly await the follow up stories on the widespread violation of speed limits and bike lane blocking by drivers, as well as dangerous pedestrian behavior (listening for traffic before jaywalking instead of looking, standing in the bike lane waiting to cross the street when there is a perfectly safe sidewalk right next to it).

Yes, Nancy Gruskin’s story is tragic, unfortunate, and should gleam some lessons on how we educate cyclists. But that’s one death in the past three years – and, in fact, the ONLY documented death of a pedestrian killed by a cyclist in that period. Nearly FIVE HUNDRED pedestrians have been killed by cars over that same period. When are you going to do an expose about NYC drivers who are “way out of control?”

Disappointing that CBS decided to focus on the transportation mode that kills about 1 New Yorker per year, and not the one that kills 300-400 New Yorkers per year.

Wish now that the NYPD would ticket drivers when they pull U-turns in the middle of the street, speed, neglect to use blinkers, and oh, yeah, run red lights. Heck, I wish NYPD would maybe occasionally actually charge drivers when they hit and kill cyclists. Or maybe we could just start with double parking. Remember, fair New Yorkers, those heady days of yore, before the streets were constantly choked with automobiles, when double parking was actually illegal?

[...] Bedlam! CBS2 Files Impeccably Accurate Report on Creeping Cyclist [...]

The pandering to the bicycle lobby (notably, Transportation Alternatives which has infiltrated the administration) by Bloomberg/DOT is truly head spinning. The lanes piling up are costly, often unused and are certainly not taking cars off the streets, but rather creating more traffic chaos and inconvenience. I am constantly in a state of anxiety about bicycles because they operate in stealth mode and many do not follow the rules. As you noted, this is the top quality of life issue in many neighborhoods and CBS is to be congratulated for running this story. Let’s hope that the administration is listening.

Where’s the report on reckless driving? Cars cause hundreds, if not thousands of deaths and injuries every year in NYC, yet the number of deaths caused by bikes is hardly a statistical blip on anyone’s radar. If the police would enforce traffic laws for automobiles AND bikes and if the city would install more bike lanes, bike riders would have fewer opportunities and reasons to bike against traffic or run lights.

Cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists are all EQUALLY guilty of flouting the law.
I say this as an avid cyclist, pedestrian, and motorist. Anyone who says otherwise has their head in the sand.

“In a recent 20 minute period at First Avenue and Sixth Street, CBS 2 counted 17 bike riders running red lights and more than two dozen riding the wrong way and against traffic.” Now tell us what the total number of cyclists you observed during this time frame. So everyone can deteremine the percentage of cyclists this represents at this location.

Ticketing bicyclists will improve safety for pedestrians on sidewalks and increase revenue for the city. There are many bicyclists on Brooklyn (as well as other boroughs) sidewalks terrorizing walkers with severe bodily injury to the torso, legs, feet and sometimes the head if knocked down. Ticket them the first time and arrest them on a second bicycling offense.

Many times have I been confronted on the sidewalks with speeding bicyclists aiming at my knees. Throw them in jail!

Participating in the Summer Streets program last Saturday, even though 2 lanes were designated for bike riders on either side of Park Ave, they still acted as if the whole street was for them only, weaving in and out of the pedestrian lanes.

During the same 20 minute period, how many pedestrians did you see crossing against a red? How many times did YOU, as a pedestrian cross against the red???

I think it is great that NY has become more bike friendly and before blaming cyclists consider all the pedestrians that stand in the street and use bike lanes for walking oblivious to what is going on around them.

There needs to be common sense to enforcing bike laws. If someone is riding recklessly give them a ticket, but giving a ticket everytime a bike goes through a red light (when pedestrians in mass engage in jaywalking) reeks of injustice.

Many cyclist do indeed disobey the law. Of course they account for less than one in ten thousand roadway deaths per year and a similar proportion of the 4 million injuries. Perhaps we should untwist our knickers and focus our enforcement efforts where they will save lives, on the killers in motor vehicles. Be honest, has anyone actually seen a car stop at a stop sign?

It is possible for bicyclists and pedestrians and cars, taxis, buses, hansom cabs, motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, segways, firetrucks, delivery trucks, earth-movers, derreks. pushcarts. wheelchairs, even cop cars to coexist, share the roads, sidewalks etc. Common courtesy is the way and that can’t be legislated. It is beneath CBS News to engage in fear-mongering and sensationalism on this pathetic level, or should be. What would Walter think of this week of reports?

as a cycling commuter, i ride everyday. i agree there are a lot of cyclist that are arrogant reckless. also there are a lot of pedestrians and car drivers that are the same. we need to find a way coexist and understand each other. blaming one party is not solving anything.
biking all year round i see the more of the recklessness in cycling come out when the weather is fair. there are a lot more absent minded, cell phone wielding, aggro cyclist at this time. in no way am i condoning their behavior but all i ask is that cyclist, peds, drivers all have a better understanding and awareness of your space.
i do my best to respect drivers and peds. all of us are not bad.

Cyclists in majorl metrpolis all over the world has the same attitude. They have scanty respect for pedestrians, they think that traffic lights are not for them to follow,and in large no. of cases they struck the pedestrians causing severe injuries. I have observed this in all the major cities of the world, Paris, Newyork,Rome,UAE(abudhabi),,Calcutta(india). Its time we the pedestrians of all these cities stand up against it and put up resistance with the help of the authorities.

They think they own the street.Traffic lights are not meant for them. Pedestrian crossing is not even an issue to them. No respect for any law or society whatsoever.They should have to register the same as a motor vehicle and have insurance since they are dangers and reckles

As an avid cyclist, I’m well aware that cyclists could be better on the road. Pedistrians and drivers are hardly innocent in their interactions with us. Drivers and pedistrians both rarely look both ways before proceeding into our path. Pedistrians frequently use bike paths as sidewalks and force us to avoid them in spaces that are suppose to be for us. i frequent the west side bike path and there are more runners and walkers on the bike path than there are on the walkways. Perhaps you all could study that and present a balanced story instead of blaming the cyclists for all pedistrians aggravations. They have plenty of blame too.

Thank you for running this story. I live in Williamsburg where the bicyclists are young, arrogant, and completely out of control. Riding the wrong way down one way streets is a chronic problem over here. I have yet to see one ticket being issued by police. Again, thanks for your timely story.

As a cyclist I welcome the NYPD’s efforts to enforce the laws. Wrong way riders in particular are a danger to all street users. Cyclist who run red lights while buzzing pedestrians in the crosswalk give all cyclists a bad reputation. I also hope that while the NYPD is ticketing cyclists who break the law they also give some attention to drivers who double park in bike lanes and failure to yield to cyclists going straight when making turns.