Big Apple bicyclists would be allowed to cruise through red lights and stop signs after merely slowing down and looking both ways, under a proposed bill by a city councilman.
The measure, introduced by Antonio Reynoso — who represents bike-crazy Williamsburg — would lift the requirement that cyclists follow the same traffic-light rules as motor-vehicle drivers.
The proposal comes as Mayor de Blasio struggles with his Vision Zero plan to lower pedestrian fatalities and cops are trying to crack down on rogue drivers, cyclists and jaywalkers.
City records show 4,463 cyclists were injured in crashes last year.
But Reynoso defended the proposal, noting how stopping is difficult for cyclists at full speed.
“Riding a bike is not like driving a vehicle. A bike’s motor is the human body, and there is the issue of losing momentum,” said Reynoso, who loves biking so much, he sold his car to raise money for his 2013 campaign.
“It is not sensible to have to stop and go at every stop sign.”
Reynoso, who admits he sometimes blows stop signs and red lights “when appropriate,” believes his plan could improve traffic safety in general by speeding up the time it takes everyone to get through an intersection.
22 comments:
Does this mean that pedestrians on crosswalks getting bike-buzzed by shouting, aggressive bikers are allowed to spit on them as they pass? Now, THAT seems fair.
How stupid, what about the pedestrian who is follow the rules and crossing at a green light or in a crosswalk. You can’t hear a bike coming, if a cyclist can’t stop at a corner maybe they are going to fast.
So that's the end of Vision Zero. DOA by one of it's own proponents. Dumb!
I gotta tell youse dis. Yesterday I was driving south on 2nd Avenue in Madhattan in the upper 40's in the far left lane. You know where the avenue goes up a long hill? That's a shared vehicular traffic/ bike lane. Here's where the cyclists have to huff and puff and strain those calf muscles to get to the crescent up around 44th street. So I'm right behind this cyclist centered in front of me with my car lights illuminating brightly his rear tires. Man that guy was nervous. Of course, I didn't want to hit him but just tail him closely. After all it's a shared lane right? I gotta admit it was so much fun watching him sweat. Sorta like the glee a cat gets playing with the mouse. I betcha he thought real hard at the top of the hill about the virtues of cycling in this crazy city.
(BTW I've done long-distance cycling - the stories I could tell you! - and there are 5 bikes parked in my garage. So there!)
another example of the developers lobby (transporation alternative division) is at war with the rest of the city. check out the organizations supporting this - citibank to bloomberg, all benefitting by lowering the carbon footprint (with bikes replacing cars) in favor of more development.
Next: let them ride legally on the sidewalks?
Are you forced to have a lobotomy when you get elected to office in NYC?
How on earth is this a good idea?
It's good for the organ donation people!
there is no constitutional right to ride a bicycle.
there should be classes, testing and licensing for these maniacs.
do you know how much money the cyclists could generate?
licensing fees, registration fees, fines, penalties - WOW.
who pays for all these fancy bike lines on the road?
not the bicyclers
and while we are at it do they have insurance if they run down granny in the crosswalk?
they should pay tolls on the bridges!
Bikes? What about cars?
Other municipalities already have laws allowing red lights to be treated as stop signs late at night. While I can't see that working for Manhattan, it would make driving through Queens late at night a lot easier. It's endlessly frustrating waiting for a long red light at 3AM when there aren't any other cars in sight.
Hey, this Reynoso guy is a genius. I like the way he thinks. I mean if it's frustrating for bikers to needlessly have to stop for red lights just think of how bad it is for drivers. Think of all the pollution caused by millions of cars stopping and going all the time for no real reason. So does anyone think this deushebag will suggest this same privilege for car and truck drivers?
The endgame is that we subjects all ride bicycles.
Motor vehicles will only be for royalty
i.e.
Elected and connected...
A full stop is required when the biker seems it's a necessary.
Good bikers will respect the pedestrian's right of way and good car drivers must share the road with bikers. Sounds simple to me.
I almost hit two cyclists that blew thru a stop sign today.
This is what happens when an entire generation is brought up being told they are " special ". Rules and regulations are for schmucks, I'm " special ". I blame Mr. Rodgers.
A bicycle is a vehicle and traffic laws should apply to them all the same. Bike riders thing that by ringing their little gay bell all pedestrians should be aware that they are riding at 20 MPH on bridges, walks, streets and everywhere.
The ride against traffic, cross red lights, ride on the wrong side of the street, they ride on sidewalks, and finally they break all the known rules of traffic and good behavior. Most of them do. For their sake and specially for the sake of those who walk (who really exercise), control them the hard way the same the authorities do with motorcycle and car drivers.
This proposal is logical and way overdue. It would free up a lot of time so enforcement can be concentrated on reckless and psychotic drivers, especially people running stop signs which is happening a lot in the past 5 years in our fine borough. I actually have been doing this for a while although when it comes to stop signs you should just halt and not roll, it looks just as bad. This wouldn't be necessary if cops would make distinctions on who shows consideration than some extreme athlete or skell outlaw type that just uses pedestrians and accelerating vehicles as slaloms. It would save a lot of frustration for those who find the detail embarrassing and those that take sadistic glee arbitrarily stopping people.
There's a big hairy but to this
This comes at the absolute wrong time in the absolute wrong environment in with the absolute worst segment of people in the absolute privileged area this legislation helps. In the midst of an absolute flawed mayoral program to promote responsible driving, riding and commuting and to curb and punish reckless offenders.
Riding to work up Grand st. to the bridge has become some sort of gran taurino or more accurately Gran Fondo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Fondo), which may be the inspiration why this minion for millenials came up with it. And he's quite oblivious about how he incriminates himself as a traffic scofflaw. Maybe he just wants this to be law purely so he won't get stopped himself. I have countless almost run-ins with people attempting a narrow pass when there was ample room to.
I can't think of anyone so perfect to represent his district, certainly the ones this electard and city hall prefers to select-Generation Gentrification. This constituency of frivolous spending, blissfully stupid, willfully ignorant, grossly entitled and coddled hipsters, whose brains, as with Reynoso, can't register simple symbols as a yellow and red lights, people walking, passing cars and cannot function to control their legs. I wonder if Rey and his faithful ride fixies? Because this law would help those with bikes with no brakes,where the cog is set so they can't stop peddling. I actually have doing this method for years and it's really not hard to react the same way you stop a car. It's all about timing.
Despite how it will help me as a rider, I don't want this ratified. This isn't the early 90's when I was virtually the only one riding to work or even the 00's when more started. There's millions more people now including the tourists and believe it or not, it's getting congested. And unfortunately a lot of them don't show restraint. And this will only exacerbate it, especially with the amount of app food delivery bikers, a lot of them use motors.(and even locking a bike to a pole has become as difficult as finding a space for your car) and those grifter pedicabs and shitibikes. A majority of shitibikers that use those are obnoxious jerks and are always blowing lights and pedestrians. And 4000 is a fucking lot of accidents and related deaths have doubled this year,( I was hit myself but it wasn't reported because the bitch cut me off and left me on the crowd and rode off and people just gawked)And how the fuck is that going to come down, by enforcing the law. And that amount shows that there are lot of equally stupid and arrogant people out there riding on the streets. It's a lesser danger than guns but the amount of bad people on bikes is enough to keep the rules in place.
The key is enforcement and the utter lack of it. And judging by what I seen and including hazardous driving and insolent pedestrians (check out 8th avenue and the partitioned bike lane, it's now an extended sidewalk). It's not happening out there. It's starting to seem that the city is too fucking crowded to enforce the laws and weed out the repeat offenders. But that doesn't mean that there should be laws for scofflaws. Reynoso and those self-entitled just should change their riding habits.
As a long time bicyclist in the city myself, riding any vehicle, motorized or not, should require a license and a license plate. Even though they are not always the reason for them, bicyclists are involved in too many accidents to not require registration.
"bicyclists are involved in too many accidents to not require registration"
Where are your papers ?
This is what happens when a no-talent hack who was an aide to another no-talent hack gets elected to public office.
The basic theory of this proposed legislation is: since the cyclist doesn't obey the law just legalize their behavior. So who has the right of way at a cross walk? Pedestrian of cyclist?
This is so stupid. When you "relax" a rule, most folk take it to the extreme. Remember stop,question and (sometimes) frisk. This city is being run by morons.
Let this reynoso person know that if you are hit by a bicycle,his name is the first one on your lawsuit.
Post a Comment