Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

NYPD Issuing Warnings to Brooklyn Bridge Cyclists

bbsign1.jpgLast 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.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: Welcome to the War on Cars, Scientific American

Our favorite story yesterday was this editorial in an unexpected place. Plus other news.

April 18, 2024

Meet the MTA Board Member and Congestion Pricing Foe Who Uses Bridges and Tunnels For Free Every Day

Mack drives over the transportation authority's bridges and tunnels thanks to a rare perk of which he is the primary beneficent.

April 18, 2024

Randy Mastro Aspires to Join Mayor’s Inner Circle of Congestion Pricing Foes

The mayor's reported pick to run the city Law Department is former deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani and notorious foe of bike lanes and congestion pricing.

April 18, 2024

Donald Shoup: Here’s a Parking Policy That Works for the People

Free parking has a veneer of equality, but it is unfair. Here's a proposal from America's leading parking academic that could make it more equitable.

April 18, 2024

Brooklyn Civic Panel Can’t Agree How to Solve NYPD Sidewalk Parking

Move the illegal sidewalk parking or denounce it altogether?

April 17, 2024
See all posts