Is $270 A Reasonable Fine For Bicycling Through Red Light?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...961765660.html
Ticketed Cyclists Were Within the Speed Limit
By TOM PERROTTA

It turns out that nine of 10 cyclists who received speeding tickets in Central Park Tuesday morning are in luck: NYPD officers ticketed them for the wrong speed limit.

Early Tuesday morning, before the West Drive of the park loop was opened to cars, 10 bikers were pulled over for riding faster than 15 mph.

The official limit, according to the Central Park Conservancy's website, is 25 mph. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/ny...ef=todayspaper
Parks Dept. Disavows a Speed Limit for Bicycles
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN
Published: March 23, 2011

On Tuesday morning, police officers aimed a radar gun at West Drive in Central Park, hoping to catch bicyclists going too fast. Instead they exposed a city bureaucracy bungling the enforcement of one of the simplest of laws: the speed limit.

It was not enough that the Police Department sent officers on Tuesday night to the homes of most of the 10 cyclists given tickets to revoke the citations and apologize, a rarity, to be sure. On Wednesday, the Department of Parks and Recreation disavowed the 15 mile-per-hour speed limit for cyclists that it announced two decades ago and which is posted in small print on signs found in Central Park. ...

I saw two cyclists stopped at red lights on the greenway yesterday (around 14th and 34th).

Since this never, ever happens and there wasn't any traffic, I assume there might be some enforcement going on. I've seen no increase in cyclists yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks on the greenway.

As far as I can tell (I live downtown), it's still perfectly okay to salmon past City Hall and One Police Plaza.

http://www.nycc.org/message-board/cy...est-side/50745

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Originally Posted by ccnyc

http://www.nycc.org/message-board/cy...est-side/50745

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I've been following that, and it is indeed scary -- unless there's more to it that explains the police response. So far, the incident hasn't been mentioned in Streetsblog or Gothamist.

She's updated with her story:

http://www.nycc.org/message-board/fu...t-sunday/50804

If this is true, it's even scarier than what the witnesses assumed.

Edited to add story from Gothamist.

According to the Brooklyn Paper, 695 citations were issued to cyclists in Brooklyn during February this year (compared with 375 last year).

The comments after this article are slightly more intelligent than is usual, and a bit funny. A Brooklyn conversation, for sure.

According to the NY Post, a cyclist was ticketed for riding with a tote bag on her handlebars.

I hope we eventually get a breakdown of infractions for which cyclists are being cited. It's predictable that a certain amount of silly tickets are being written, and that those are getting publicity. Right now, I have only anecdotal information so there's no way to know how many cyclists who should be ticketed -- like wrong-way riders -- are being cited.

Robin Williams was stopped for cycling on the sidewalk, but got off with a warning.

Back to the original topic, I was surprised to see quite a few cyclists going through red lights in Central Park yesterday afternoon. I waited through several light changes at 81 St. (west side) and no one stopped.

It was a mixed group of "types" of cyclists -- a few were on marked rental bikes, but most of them weren't.

Riverside Drive is the main cycling route to/from the GWB/Manhattan.
From a member of my cycle club:
"I was approaching 165 on Riverside about to turn right to climb the hill when I noticed a police car on the triangle there where the parallel road comes into a v at the light. I slowed way down, looked all around, no cars, green light...so I proceeded thru the light, turning right and began climbing the hill all the way on the right hand side... Half way I up was pulled over. What on earth could be the proble ??? Failure to signal a right hand turn! $130. Honestly! I kid u not! I will be fighting this on principal!"
http://www.nycc.org/message-board/ti...d-signal/51052

Cops park in bike lane while eating Papa John's pizza.

http://bit.ly/jg697L

More important: Papa John's pizza in NYC? Now *that* should be illegal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ny biker

More important: Papa John's pizza in NYC? Now *that* should be illegal.

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Seriously. I had a friend who almost moved out when his roommate ordered from Domino's.

In other news, a scooter cop was parked at Chambers St. and the greenway yesterday. Based on his location, I would guess he was watching cyclists, not cars.

It was especially comical given how cars behave at the West Side Highway crossings. Maybe not as much of a travesty as the Central Park transverses, but close.

NYPD eases up on cyclists in Central Park. I hope they continue to ticket cyclists who buzz pedestrians.

http://www.dnainfo.com/20110518/uppe...ver-say-police