As you may know I ride a bike in NYC, in Manhattan, on city streets. 

Until a few years ago I didn't imagine anyone could do it, but the city has really embraced bike riding and there are bike lanes that go pretty much where ever you want to go.

But there are still problems.

Lots of people use the bike lanes as extra sidewalks, even when they don't have to, when the sidewalks are empty.

And cars use the bike lanes as extra lanes. They park in them. In some places it makes bike riding a lot more dangerous, because where there was room for a car and a bike before now there isn't enough room. It's especially dangerous on an uphill, where bikes are going  slower than cars. NYC drivers are impatient enough when you're in your own lane, but when you're in theirs, even if it's because a car or truck is using the bike lane, well tough shit bike rider, some car drivers are not very understanding. It's NY culture.

There's one particularly bad place, on 54th St between 9th and 10th Aves. There is a west-east bike line on the street. And there's 54th St Auto Center, that has at least five tow trucks that they park, permanently, in the bike lane. It's on an up hill, and the street gets a lot of car traffic as well as bikes. It's a good street for a bike lane, but the 54th St Auto Center has taken it over, using it as if it were private property.

What's really weird is that in the next block, between 8th and 9th Aves on 54th St is the NYPD Midtown North Precinct. Lots of cops all the time. A few days ago I asked one was guarding a barrier on the street if he could take a look and possibly help us do something about it. Maybe if they got tickets, they would stop doing blocking the bike lane. He said he would, and it sounded like he meant it. He agreed that biking is a good thing for the city. 

Today there were five tow trucks blocking the bike lane. So I stopped on my way past the precinct and asked a group of cops about this. They were pretty helpful. They said they do ticket them, but they just pay the tickets. "A cost of doing business?" I asked. Yup. They said they need to park their trucks somewhere, to which I said that we need to ride our bikes somewhere, and that's what the bike lanes are for. 

Clearly the tickets need to be more expensive.

I think if we really want bike riding to work in the city, we're going to have to start identifying the bugs in the system, and keep (friendly) pressure up with NYPD to help keep the lanes clear. Maybe instead of tickets they could tow the trucks. Take them off the road altogether. The street is not their property, it's the city's. 

PS: Here's a Google street view of the street. On the day they came through the bike lane was completely clear. 

PPS: NYPD Midtown North has a Twitter account. I followed it, and sent a link to this post to them.