religious wars; bike lanes removed and repainted

[Crankin]

One of my sons sort of looks like a combination of those guys. The who commutes, natch. He commuted this morning, when the temperature was about 7 F. Of course, he called me to consult on what to wear. My reply was, "you are nuts."
I have come to the conclusion that he is as tough as his brother, who is a Marine.

[PamNY]

Big doings! A naked bike ride to protest the closure is planned for this evening. Brrrr.

[shootingstar]

Big doings! A naked bike ride to protest the closure is planned for this evening. Brrrr.

How,...um..meaningful. A naked bike ride protest.
Ok, label me a prude, but really, naked bike rides to me, aren't fun. Just kinda stupid. Actually have never understood the logic of naked bike rides for any situation.

Once in Toronto, we were riding around and inadvertedly rode into an area where the naked bike ride was going through. I was not impressed...and these guys (most of them were) were in better shape than the general guy population.

I felt sorry for a family with their 2 children under age 10, who were about 1 km. behind us, before they turned the corner.... They wouldn't have known what they were going to see.

[owlice]

If the point of the bike lanes is safety (it is, isn't it? Bike lanes make it safer for cyclists?), it seems to me that a naked bike ride, in the dark, in the cold, in the snow, is not the best way to make the point that cyclists value safety.

[kenyonchris]

If the point of the bike lanes is safety (it is, isn't it? Bike lanes make it safer for cyclists?), it seems to me that a naked bike ride, in the dark, in the cold, in the snow, is not the best way to make the point that cyclists value safety.

I agree. I also think it does not help to drive home the point that cyclists are a serious, sane, reasonable group of people who have valid points to make.
Yuck. If I had a bunch of naked people riding in front of MY house I would lobby to have the bike lane closed too. Besides the fact that, once again, it is ILLEGAL to ride naked (well, it is illegal to expose one's genitals to the point of offense).

[Geonz]

It's not the bike lane bringing the naked folks out. The bike lane is just a bike lane. That's the weird part -- the idea that bike lanes somehow cause the distractions. Do the Hasidim have the right to keep people from riding on the public streets? Do they have the right to have the facilities changed on those grounds? Closing bike lanes doesn't keep *all* cyclists away...

We just had a public hearing to discuss taking parking away and putting in bike lanes. The city folks listened to the citizens' reasoning both ways. Fundamentally, the arguments that "bicyclists are bad things to have in our nei9ghborhood" were sagely nodded at... but not considered as valid.Basically bicycles are now included in transportation planning. If that's true in some parts of NY, it should be true in the selective neighborhoods, too.

Since the Hasidim are going beyond logic it kinda makes sense to me that the cyclists are, too. If they really don't want the distractions, then they can ask for the bike lanes to be put back, and then the people will stop distracting. That's logical. If the distractions are truly their priority they'll go for it.

[kenyonchris]

Do the Hasidim have the right to keep people from riding on the public streets? Do they have the right to have the facilities changed on those grounds? Closing bike lanes doesn't keep *all* cyclists away...

Since the Hasidim are going beyond logic it kinda makes sense to me that the cyclists are, too. If they really don't want the distractions, then they can ask for the bike lanes to be put back, and then the people will stop distracting. That's logical. If the distractions are truly their priority they'll go for it.

Yeah, this argument of "going beyond logic makes others do the same" doesn't make sense...if the removed the bike lanes, you have to go through legal channels to replace them...two wrongs don't make a right. Petition, protest, picket, whatever (as long as you don't interfere with others rights to move about freely) but repainting bike lanes illegally and a naked bike ride is not the way to go.
Police cannot enforce cyclists right to a bike lane if the lane is painted illegally anyhow. It may as well not exist.