Bicycling

Eyes on the Street: Instant Bike Lane, Courtesy of NYPD and the Pope

Update: From reader Joe Enoch: "I got in that 'lane' this morning and a cop nearly knocked me off my bike a few feet later. He jumped in front of me and screamed at me to get out of the lane. There were no emergency vehicles, UN convoys or popes in sight."

By Brad Aaron

11:39 AM EDT on September 25, 2015

Photo: Jared Rodriguez, www.HaverstrawLife.com. Click to enlarge.

Update: From reader Joe Enoch: “I got in that ‘lane’ this morning and a cop nearly knocked me off my bike a few feet later. He jumped in front of me and screamed at me to get out of the lane. There were no emergency vehicles, UN convoys or popes in sight.”

The papal visit is opening up streets all over Manhattan. Reader Jared Rodriguez sent this pic of 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, where an emergency lane staked with traffic cones became an impromptu bi-directional bikeway.

Goes to show that if you create a car-free lane, cyclists will gravitate to it. And see how easy it is to reallocate street space for car-free transport when the city wants to.

Brooklyn Spoke’s Doug Gordon is posting more shots of pope-related street reclamations on Twitter.

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.

Bicycling | Eyes on the Street | Protected Bike Lanes

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