An Open Invite for Diane Savino to See NYC Streets From a Bike Saddle

After State Senator Diane Savino's remarks about yelling at bicyclists to "find a fucking bike lane" ricocheted around online NYC media yesterday, we're hearing that some constituents and other New Yorkers have contacted her to see if she's up for getting a bicycle rider's perspective on city streets.

It's pretty tough to find a bike lane when the bike network is as threadbare as Staten Island's, and the few lanes that do exist are constantly obstructed by parked cars. And it's probably been a very long time since Savino saw city streets from behind handlebars instead of a windshield. In this interview with WNYC's Brian Lehrer that aired a few years ago, Savino suggested biking to Shea Stadium using basically the same route you would take in a car -- a lot of highway service roads with no bike lanes.

Here's an invitation to Savino from Brooklyn Spoke author Doug Gordon (lightly edited for the blog -- here's the original):

Let's see if something good can come out of all this. A few years ago, Savino's boyfriend, State Senator Jeff Klein, had his own angry encounter with a cyclist go public, but more recently he's been instrumental in moving important street safety legislation through Albany. Thanks in no small part to Klein, NYC now has a lower citywide speed limit and an automated speed enforcement program.