The war on e-bikes took a "nasty" turn on the Upper West Side on Thursday.
Constituents of Council Member Gale Brewer upset over her recent endorsement of MAGA Republican Vickie Paladino's proposal to ban all e-bikes from city parks hoped to drop off letters Thursday afternoon to express their dismay at Brewer's capitulation to what she herself has called "nasty" pressure from constituents opposed to e-bikes.
The group of Upper West Siders arrived to find a handful of NYPD officers, Brewer's district office closed earlier than usual, and a mob of indignant supporters of the proposed parks e-bike ban surrounding the office's entrance while shouting things like "We are the majority!"
Sara Lind of Open Plans posted video of the small group of cycling advocates walking up to the entrance while demonstrators berated them and shoved signs in their faces. Take a look here.
An email from EVSA leader Janet Schroeder, which Streetsblog obtained via a source, called on e-bike ban supporters to "show up to counter" the volunteers affiliated with Open Plans and Transportation Alternatives. "We can only do this if we outnumber the opposition," Schroeder wrote (in all caps). The email accused bike advocates of "trying to bully [Brewer] off the bill," but it's not hard to see who the bullies were on Thursday.
A note about safety: E-bike riders have caused some horrific crashes, but the biggest source of danger on city streets remains cars, as NYPD crash stats bear out. Meanwhile, delivery workers ride through Central Park do so because no safe alternatives exist on the streets nearby. Of the park's perimeter streets, only Central Park West has a protected bike lane. The nearest protected bike lane east of the park is a half-mile away on Second Avenue.
The best way to get e-bikes out of parks is to provide their riders safe routes on city streets — something park ban sponsor Paladino opposes flat-out, and EVSA's supporters routinely oppose when the city proposes redesigns.
We're all adjusting to the new reality of more two-wheeled vehicles on city streets. The solutions aren't futile attempts to squeeze e-bikes out of the picture, but initiatives to redesign streets to encourage safer riding — by moving Citi Bike docks to the street, daylighting intersections, widening bike lanes and reducing the amount of space we allocate to driving and parking.
In other news:
- Congestion pricing is in pre-election limbo thanks to Gov. Hochul's antics. (Politico)
- What would the two leading candidates for president do for housing and transit in New York? (The City)
- West Side Rag dove into the ballot proposals New Yorkers will get to have a say on this November.
- A driver died on I-95 in the Bronx after crashing into an unoccupied parked tractor-trailer whose driver had been in another collision earlier. (Daily News)
- Gothamist and amNY also covered Mayor Adams's latest bid to redesign Fifth Avenue (The Times broke the story). Check out Streetsblog's coverage here.
- Mayor Adams will host the Liberty for a ticket-tape parade if they win the WNBA finals (if he's still mayor, of course). (NY Post)
- Hear from cyclists outraged over the official prohibition of the popular pre-New York City Marathon bike ride. (road.cc)
- Speaking of Gale Brewer, new bus lanes, which Brewer opposed for some reason, have gone in on 96th Street:
