NYC Bicyclists are killing pedestrians and the city won’t stop it
nypost.com
nypost.com
>7 pedestrians killed by cyclists since 2011
From a quick Google search:
>19 cyclists killed by cars in 2019 alone
What alternative is suggested? Skateboarding? Running?
I think the main issue is that there is lack of established right-of way between pedestrians and cyclists. The Brooklyn Bridge is safety nightmare when tourists walk in the bike lane, and cyclists who blaze over 15mph on a sidewalk endanger everybody.
In the street, it's not much safer for cyclists when you have cars that sideswipe pedestrians, and the bike lanes can be obstructed by parked cars and trash. I see transportation on a whole growing into chaos with the mix of pedestrians with boosted boards, scooters, hoverboards and the like. While accidents do happen between pedestrians and cars on the street, there are clear rules for both cars and pedestrians for who gets to occupy which space at a given time.
Bike lanes are not treated with respect by drivers, businesses and pedestrians. With a bunch of new classes of electric vehicles as well that can endanger pedestrians, I think that there should be a speed limit set for the sidewalk, electric vehicles can use the bike lane, and obstructions of bike lanes are worth parking tickets. Rules of the bike lane should be the same as cars, with places for speed limited zones and stop signs to help with safety in pedestrian crossing zones, and intersections.
I think another issue of bike lanes is that they are too thin. No space for passing, and often times cars feel too comfortable infringing on the space. While double-wide spacing for bike lanes would take away from street space or sidewalk space, they would feel much safer and encourage adoption of transportation that lowers congestion.
That being said, bike lanes are only as good as they are maintained as with pretty much any part of the infrastructure.