Cycle Citation

David Diehl DUI DWI car crash in a bike lane.

CycleCitation — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:39:20 +0000

The NYPD parks in bike lanes.

CycleCitation — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:36:13 +0000

I have been on an extended hiatus. The reason is simple. Last August I lost my GoPro camera floating in some white water on a canoeing trip in Vermont. So I have been unable to record my rides, and the weather reduced how much I rode anyway.

Now with the nice weather I have been commuting to Manhattan for the last few weeks. What I have seen in the bike lane has terrified me back awake. Bike lanes aren’t safe in NYC. Just check out this cnn report that was buried at 2:30 on a Friday. The NYPD doesn’t care if vehicles break bike lane law. Neither does the public. They block the bike lane every single day I ride.

Public enemy number one for cyclists in NYC has to be NYPD. Not only do they fail to investigate deadly cycle crashes, they cause many. How you ask? They park in bike lanes with impunity. NY state law allows the police to park in the bike lane on official business. But this cop in the picture was parked directly in front of a Chase bank. Just a week before a cop cut me off in the exact same location to park in the bike lane. I stopped my bike to see what the officer did. While her partner was sleeping in the passenger seat, the officer walked into the Chase (to do her banking). Also last week I saw eight cop cars parked in the bike lane on Vernon Ave in Queens. 20 or so cops stood around on the side walk while forcing cyclists to ride in industrial trucking traffic. I yelled “Good job blocking the bike lane guys. Good job. You’re blocking the whole thing.” They yelled back “you’re welcome. Doing our job” or something to that effect.

I don’t know if any of these cops was on official business, so maybe they weren’t technically breaking the rules. But I do know they were demonstrating to every driver that passed a complete lack of regard for lives of cyclists. For all the countless cars I have seen parked in bike lanes, I have only seen one get a warning and one get a ticket. I cannot count the number of cops I have seen parked in a bike lane. The result is that any driver can safely assume they won’t face consequences for endangering people riding in bike lanes.

It is time the NYPD started leading by example. If the broken window policy reduced crime across the board, wouldn’t a no cops parking in the bike lanes policy reduce the number of bike lane infractions by all drivers. If the NYPD continues to demonstrate a complete disregard for the safety of cyclists, how can we ever expect the population at large to regard the sanctity of our lives. Cyclists need the NYPD to step up and start protecting bike lanes instead of parking in them.

Citation: Standing in bike lane
Plates: NYPD402010
Date: 4/19/2012
Time: 6:38 PM

Mayor Runs Over Illegally Parked Car in bike lane with Tank

CycleCitation — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:11:36 +0000

One can dream… hat tip JCPE.

NY_AER 2698

CycleCitation — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:00:40 +0000

Citation: Standing in bike route
Standing in a bike route may or may not be legal. I record the citation, because if it is legal these routes provide just about no protection for riders.
Plates: NY_AER 2698
Date: 7/29/2011
Time: 1:33 PM

NY_DDK9901 Standing in Bike Lane

CycleCitation — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:00:19 +0000

Citation: Standing in bike lane
Plates: NY_34119JR Grand Ave Laundromat and Dry Cleaning
Date: 7/29/2011
Time: 1:32 PM

NY_34119JR Standing in Bike Lane

CycleCitation — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:17:01 +0000

Citation: Standing in bike lane
Plates: NY_34119JR Grand Ave Laundromat and Dry Cleaning
Date: 7/29/2011
Time: 1:31 PM

On the set of Bert and Arnie’s Guide to Friendship

CycleCitation — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:55:31 +0000

On the set with Ian Springer, writer of Bert and Arnie’s Guide to Friendship. I went to college with Ian and just happened to see him from my bike. I stopped to chat about the film he is shooting. One of the reasons I love riding my bike in NYC is this type of random chance encounter that happens quite often.
Check out the movie on IMDB.

NY_EMW1932 Standing in bike lane

CycleCitation — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:42:10 +0000

Citation: Standing in bike lane
Plates: NY_EMW1932
Date: 7/27/2011
Time: 7:08 PM
This a food delivery car. It really pisses me off that there is a wide open and legal parking space right next to his car and directly in front of the restaurant. This is not the first time I have seen this car here. I just saw it again yesterday, but my camera was out of batteries. I can only assume they have never gotten a ticket for doing this, which is why even with a legit space available, they park in the bike lane. More tickets need to be written.

Picture of Plates:

NY_BEG6153 Standing in a bike lane

CycleCitation — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:36:20 +0000

Citation: Standing in a bike lane
Plates: NY_BEG6153
Date: 7/27/2011
Time: 7:07 PM

Picture of Plates:

Slow Motion Subway Trains on Queensboro Bridge

CycleCitation — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:57:56 +0000

I road up the Queensboro Bridge right next to a train. It was amazing. Just the type of moment that shows how exciting and beautiful it is to see NYC from a bike. Watching the video in real time didn’t do the moment justice, so I slowed it down. That’s how I remember the moment in my mind’s eye.