CLARIFYING BIKE COMPLAINTS

Written by admin on December 12, 2008. Posted in Opinion and Column

To the Editor:
I do not wish to have an ongoing dialogue with Peter Goldwasser of Transportation Alternatives regarding his answer to my previous letter (“Bad Cycling Behavior,” Dec. 4). But I cannot have him accuse me inaccurately without defending myself.
He is the one who is incorrect. I have never, nor would I ever, accuse Transportation Alternatives of condoning the unlawful behavior of bikers. I have not done this in my letters, to the media or to the Transportation Alternatives office.
Can Mr. Goldwasser just make clear what has been done to alleviate the craziness of the bike riders besides ensuring that they wear helmets? I’m sure we all would like to know. Nothing short of identification on the tail of their bikes, as is the case with cars, can work so that when a biker is not following the rules of the road they should know that pedestrians will be able to identify them. Why is that a problem?

Bunny Abraham
Central Park West

Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

Tags: Letters to the Editor, pedestrians

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bob

I love how these supposed “pedestrian advocates” harp on and on about bicycle licensing and such (ineffective and ridiculous as that would be), while blithely ignoring the elephant in the room. Who kills hundreds of people on foot and bike each year in NYC? Who maims thousands of others? Who gives us cancers of all kinds, heart disease, hypertension and asthma? Who destroys the livability of our neighborhoods? Who pumps massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere? Who twists foreign policy and funds terrorists?

I’ll give you a hint, Ms. Abraham, it’s not people riding bikes. It seems that you are one of the victims of our car culture, so battered and victimized by it that you blame your allies (people who ride bikes), rather than your common enemy.

So, with your new-found perspective, I might suggest a more productive avocation in the future.
nycyclist

Yes, by all means, let’s add a huge layer of bureaucracy that would make riding a bike a burden! Under a licensing scheme, would my daughter need a learners’ permit to ride her Big Wheel?
Sam Katz

Regardless of the comments here, reckless bicycle riding remains the number one complaint to the police by people on the upper west side. When bike riders comply with the law they will earn the respect of pedestrians, but until that time comes, some of us will continue to pursue the possibility of licenses and other forms of identification on bikes. I believe it is only the completely irresponsible bike riders who mock these viable solutions to the pedestrian complaints. While we all recognize that cars are a serious problem, it does not detract from the other problems that reckless bike riders pose. I am sure anyone’s little daughter could recite that “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Sam Katz
President
20 Precinct Community Council
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