State Senator Has Tough Words On Facebook For Cyclists Who Disobey Law

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York State Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) had strong words for cyclists who disobey the law in a Facebook post Thursday.

Responding to a Facebook post about the accident last week in which a woman was struck by a cyclist in Central Park, Savino remarked, "how about red light cameras in the bike lanes?"

Following up in a subsequent comment, Savino wrote of rogue cyclists, "(R)ight now, I just scream at them out the window of my car. Quite a site (sic) when I yell, "Hey, find a f***ing bike lane and get in it."

The comments appeared on a post from another Facebook user, labor activist Mike McGuire, about the accident that killed former 1010 WINS employee Jill Tarlov on Thursday of last week at West Drive and 62nd Street in Central Park.

Savino told the New York Daily News her remarks were a joke, but she is serious about her frustrations with bicyclists who disregard traffic laws.

She told the newspaper that "minimally," greater enforcement is needed, and that cyclists also need to take responsibility personally.

In the Thursday accident, cyclist Jason Marshall, 31, stayed at the scene. No charges have been filed against him so far.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office has launched an investigation and city officials have begun looking at new enforcement measures.

Polly Trottenberg, the city's transportation commissioner, said earlier this week that officials will explore ways to prevent other such accidents.

It's not clear how fast the cyclist who hit Tarlov was riding, but Trottenberg said lowering the bike speed limit in the park from 25 is a possibility.

The de Blasio administration launched Operation Safe Cycle last month to go after drivers and cyclists who failed to obey traffic laws. Cyclists throughout the five boroughs received 4,300 tickets and motorists over 3,200.

About half the cyclist violations have were for failure to stop at a red light.

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