Last month we wrote about NYPD officers slowing cyclists on the Queensborough Bridge, ostensibly due to ongoing construction work. A tipster tells us that police are now setting up on the Brooklyn Bridge to instruct cyclists to dismount, under threat of receiving a summons.
I am a very conservative rider. I was wearing a helmet, had a frontlight blinking during the day, have fenders, a bell, etc. I wastraveling at a slow speed to come to the end of the Brooklyn side ofthe Brooklyn Bridge to make a right onto Tillary Street. When I gotto the very end of the bike route (where a car usually blocks thecrosswalk), a uniformed officer told me that I was supposed to dismountand walk to the point where the path ends, and where we were then standing. I pointed her to the bicycle symbol painted on the ground about 10 feetfrom where we were and she pointed up to a sign about 30 feetaway and explained that from that point to the end, bikers were todismount and that C class summonses were going to be handed out shortlyand that she was providing a warning. There is no corresponding signfrom the entry point of the bridge to the "dismount" sign for bikers towalk toward Manhattan for 30 feet.
I ride this route every day and never noticed the sign. As you know, there is lax enforcement of all traffic laws when it comes to motor vehicles and this is infuriating to be warned that desk appearance tickets will soon be dispensed.
