As a New Yorker and a driver, I can tell you I've been gobsmacked by the resistance put up to fight protected bike lanes and speed cameras (which we just lost in bulk as the legislation supporting them was not renewed). Madness.
None of it came to pass. There has been one fatality with Citibike in 5+ years, during which 60+ million trips have been taken. The city has adjusted to the increase cycling activity- I used to get cut off, honked at, and generally harassed for being on "their" road, but the active hostility is all but gone, and I see many more drivers actively looking at the bike lane before attempting a turn.
NY is large enough that there will always be a vocal minority to change. In my own building I was in disbelief when a board member is trying to drum up resistance to a citibike rack being put outside of our building. He is an older gentleman, and just a month before had been complaining about cars illegally parking in the space across the street where they proposed to put the rack. When pressed about what his specific concern was, the best he could come up with is "it will be bad for the buildings value!" and got visibly angry with me when I asked how additional transportation options would decrease the value of the building...
I wonder if this has anything to do with the prevalence of cameras on bikes, too. I've seen a lot of action cams on bikes and helmets, and those may encourage less-jerky behavior.
Edit: I should clarify that these were freeway speed cameras. Maybe they are more effective as a safety device in pedestrian-heavy areas, but I have no experience with the cameras is that context.
So everyone just slows down as their maps beep and speed up again once they pass the camera. But, I think this is accepted practice and my suspicion is that a lot of these cameras aren't even real.
Just by having them placed along the freeway every x metres, they force cars to constantly slow down.
Every street in NYC is trafficked heavily by pedestrians, and that goes double near schools - where it's especially important for drivers to stick strictly to the speed limit.
- They take away from parking spots
- I don't care about cyclists
- Maybe a bit of anti-gentrification sentiment
https://qns.com/story/2018/06/08/dont-care-cyclists-board-2-...
Two factors. One, traffic lanes are generally reduced; street side parking is left untouched. This leads to congestion and noise.
Two, some bikers in New York are assholes to pedestrians. Most are not, but the sting of a biker riding the wrong way, running a red light and narrowly missing you while cussing you for the gaul of walking on a designated crossing stays for a while.