With the recent enforcement of red lights in Central Park and elsewhere around the city, could cyclists be pushed out of a once perfect training arena? This is the question many of us are asking, or at least thinking. We’ve seen red light crackdowns before but nothing like the current episode.
Many of us have kept quiet in the hopes that the police will settle down and once again begin to turn their attention elsewhere. With the warm weather approaching and race season getting closer by the day, many are thinking it is time to speak up.
A main obstacle in this battle is what to say. It is a law that cyclists must stop at red lights in NYC. The penalty for a violation is $270, that’s the law. Because we have been able to ride with care, often slowing down to make sure nobody is around, then proceeding through lights, we have never had any major opposition to lights in Central Park. Many of us are runners and we appreciate the job they do at trying to slow down cars.
There are 17 traffic lights just on the lower loop of Central Park. It will be impossible to train, or ride with any ease if these laws are continued to be enforced. So what are we to do? Changing the law seems unlikely.
Adrian Bijanda, a New York City based triathlete and editor of www.travlete.com has developed a potential solution. He created a Facebook page: Concerned Cyclist. He is hoping to gather support and persuade the city to switch the traffic lights to flashing yellow from 4:45- 6:45 am. This would allow cyclist to continue to train in the park while continuing to ride safely.
I have mixed feelings about this solution and about the decision to take action. On one hand, yes something needs to change. It is unsafe to have riders slowing down, stopping, or worse- circling while other riders are passing by. On the other hand, creating this to be more of an issue may be a slippery slope. As I was riding this morning, I passed a woman that looked like Mary Wittenberg of New York Road Runners. If she and her organization were to fight the proposed suggestion of yellow lights, the cyclists would certainly fail. If the cyclists were to band together and then fail, the laws would most likely continue to be enforced due to the heightened public awareness of the issue.
What do you think about this situation? Do you have any ideas of how cyclists can continue to train in such a populated city? As a runner, would you oppose morning-time blinking yellow lights in Central Park? Please click HERE to express your opinion to the mayor.
I completely hear you on many of these points. I would HATE to have us take action and put something forward, only to have the proposal rejected and us stuck with even fewer training options. But my hope is that if we can put together a common voice within the cyclist/athlete community and gain some traction, then we can sit down and start discussing reasonable solutions and compromises. And at this point, we really don’t know the reasons behind the sudden crackdown or the viewpoint of the city. Even if we can only get more clarity from our public leaders, I’ll consider the effort a success.
For the record, I’m a runner, now living in the suburbs, who’s done thousands of laps of Central Park as a runner. In my young days, though I also rode in the Park, including with the nightly big groups at 7pm. Back then — in the 80s — CP wasn’t as congested as it is now, my most recent experience being about 12 miles last Saturday.
That said, I think far too many runners are either rude or stupid when it comes to cyclists. I think runners should restrict themselves to the inside, recreational lane except for temporary, necessary moves to the center lane to get around others. I think runners going clockwise should be on the inside of the Rec Lane. Somehow I’ve managed to get in my thousands of laps doing this.
I once came upon four runners in the lower loop stretched across two lanes. It was after dark, and I asked that they “tighten up.” One guy said, “Are you serious?” How does one deal with such obliviousness/cluelessness? And I know you get the same stuff on racedays, where meandering runners pre-race block the entire drive, notwithstanding NYRR’s efforts to keep it open.
Sorry for the rant. I see no reason why runners would object to the blinking lights. It seems a reasonable solution. Pedestrians crossing the Drive at those lights will get a flashing red, which might cause them to look before they cross. When the Drive is closed to cars, after all, it is for recreation. Does the City want cyclists to go where they’re less likely to be ticketed for going through red lights but where it’s more dangerous, say going up and down Riverside Drive?
Would it be in NYRR’s interest to get cyclists out of Central Park? More room for runners? Well you could point out that runners on the Park Drive have to stop at the red lights too. But I don’t think NYRR is so self-centered. A fair number of members (of which I am one) cycle as well. Most, I think, understand that there is room for both runners and cyclists in the Park.
In combination with NYPD’s plan to increase what races pay, I think it’s a revenue thing. Here’s an idea, ticket people who don’t use turn signals. Not that it’ll do any good, but I’ll post something on my blog, RunWestchester.com, and I’ll bring it up on my podcast, the New York Running Show.
I started running in Central Park in 1966(yes); and
started cycling in 1968.
The current red light issue does NOT address the reality of safety.
Most of the accidents do not occur at intersections. And(I have no statistics or proof) I believe more accidents are caused TO cyclists by: errant runners; often with headphones, tourists, pedestrians crossing against red lights, other cyclists, dogs off leash, etc.
Education and ticketing of ALL reckless behavior needs to be addressed; not selective disrciminatory enforcement.
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[...] posted a piece — I found it because he put it on NYRR’s Facebook Wall — “The End of a NYC Cycling Era.” Seems NYPD is ticketing cyclists who run red lights in Central Park when the Park is closed [...]
, Do you plan on competing in the Olympics or sehtoming-stop running and just do another exercise. (I’m not kidding, he actually said this to me). He also told me to stop all physical activity and come back to see him in one month. He did get blood work results off me and said that everything looks great (no arthritis or inflammation). He also sent me for a CT scan on my lumbar, which came back excellent.The Neurosurgeon looked at my lumbar MRI and said its the nicest one he’s ever seen, and that there is no way the minor bulging disc was causing this pain. He said that maybe this pain was coming from my neck, so I had an MRI done of my cervical spine. The results showed nothing wrong. The Neurosurgeon told me that there is nothing else he can do for me and recommended that I don’t see any other surgeons because they might want to do surgery even though there is nothing to do surgery on. At this point, I wanted sehtoming to be wrong, so that I could get surgery and fix the problem.The Orthopedic Surgeon looked at my lumbar and cervical MRIs and said they look wonderful. He ordered me a thoracic spine MRI, which turned out fine-nothing wrong there either. He said he couldn’t help me. So I asked him If I was your daughter would you tell me that you can’t help me? He was very nice, and said there is nothing he can do because he sees nothing wrong in any of the MRIs.The Acupuncturist did his thing with the needles, but I got no relief after 3 sessions. It was getting too expensive to see no results.The Sports Medicine Dr. got more blood work on me, along with an MRI on my pelvis/hips. Everything came out wonderful. He suggested a steroid injection in my SI joint to take away the pain, and he gave me a script for Physical Therapy (he included the Active Release Technique on the script) I did not take the steroid injection b/c I wanted to try the PT and ART first.The Physical Therapist worked with me 2 times a week for a month and told me that my problem is too advanced for her. She did perform ART on me in my glutes, however I don’t know if she was doing it correctly (she is not certified in it, and was only doing it the way someone showed her how to do it) She said that she is overwhelmed with my problem because she doesn’t know root cause of this injury. I was even evaluated by the Physical Therapist Sports Director, whom did a very thorough examine with me to find the problem. He said that the internal rotation in my right hip is very poor and my left heel rotation is very tight. He also examined my running form and said that it looks good. He sent me back to the same PT, who once again said that she doesn’t know what to work on with me anymore since I’m not getting better (this was today).I’ve been reading Programmed to Run by Thomas S. Miller along with too many other running/injury books. I learned a lot about running posture and I have compared my running posture to the book’s posture. I never really thought about my posture before. I am a heel striker, my arms swing low and straight forward (they never cross my chest at all), and my low back is slightly arched when I try to run tall. Now I understand that I had bad running posture. I have my own thoughts on how this injury happened and I believe that it could have stemmed from improper arm swing. According to the book the lower arm should move slightly across the chest and this would create internal rotation in the hips. I did try running 2 miles this past week using this proper running posture. I was hoping for a miracle, but I can still feel the pain. I like this new running posture, however it does not change the fact that I have an injury that needs fixed.I feel like I’ve tried everything. I’m not giving up, but I’m not sure where to go from here. I need help. I need a Running Doctor!
[...] about rude runners. Just when is it OK to stand on a roadway? We talked about NYPD’s crackdown on cyclists in Central Park, the topic of a blog post from [...]
I think predictability is an inoartpmt trait to convey for anyone that rides in traffic. In general I’m quite impressed at how cars and pedestrians observe traffic laws here in So Cal. At least in comparison to other cities that I’ve lived in like Tucson, Annapolis and Boston. Here in LA, if I’m signaling to turn left from the left turn lane, traffic will probably slow to allow me to continue on my way.The behavior of bicyclists, on the other hand, seems to run the gamut from running red lights at busy urban intersections to the consideration that the fixie guy you met displayed. No wonder some motorists are pissed at cyclists. For myself, I’ve stopped doing track stands and the like at lights. The reaction from motorists seeing a track stand appears to be a slight confusion. Meaning cars don’t know if I’m going to run the light or wait for a green signal. I put a foot down to state that I’ve stopped. Just like looking back over a shoulder and signaling suggests I want to move over to the next lane.Yeah. On average, we could do better in our observation traffic laws. Besides, when push comes to shove, we’re gonna loose. Even if we feel we’re right.