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

[PamNY]

If any of you are in groups or have influence on other cyclists, please ask them to help preserve the relative peace of Riverside Park.

I am very worried that the exodus of fast cyclists from Central Park will mean an increase in problems in Riverside as cyclists go toward NJ. There's already a requirement that cyclists dismount in one area of Riverside, and this is entirely the result of cyclists going much too fast for conditions.

Several of my park friends also fear the Central Park nightmare is coming our way, and I doubt we are alone. The pedestrians who are blithely labeled "clueless" and "oblivious" by cyclists are, in many cases, people who live in the neighborhood. They consider the speeding cyclists an unpleasant intrusion into a beautiful area they have treasured for decades. Their complaints about fast cyclists are virtually identical to the complaints cyclists have about automobile drivers.

Please, please, please remember that Riverside is popular with little kids and older people who want to bike slowly and safely. They have every right to a pleasant and peaceful environment.

If you can prevent even one person from flying through Riverside shrieking "heads up!!" I will be grateful.