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

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

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

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.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

MTA Demands Albany Deal With Toll Evasion Already

A new analysis of toll evasion found that the amount of money owed by drivers who don't pay paper toll invoices has more than doubled since 2022, from $147 million in unpaid tolls to nearly $350 million.

March 12, 2026

Hochul’s Car Insurance Plan Blows Fraud Way Out Of Proportion: Stats

Gov. Hochul's proposal to lower car insurance premiums is built on suspected fraud. But a body of evidence reveals that there really is very little.

March 12, 2026

Memo to Mamdani: Make This Summer’s World Cup A Car-Free Paradise

Mayor Mamdani should bring the city's joyful, global football culture out onto the streets.

March 12, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines: Another Outlet Heard From Edition

We're not so full of ourselves that we can't praise other outlets. Plus other news.

March 12, 2026

Trump’s Funding Freeze Has Derailed Transit, Undermining Growth and Economic Opportunity For All Americans: Report

American cities used to have some of the longest per-capita rail networks in the world. Not anymore.

March 11, 2026
See all posts