W. K. Lis
Superstar
NYC closing 2 lanes on Broadway for pedistrians and bicycles
Closing on Broadway: Two Traffic Lanes
From a New York Times article:
Closing on Broadway: Two Traffic Lanes
From a New York Times article:
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- Thread starter rp07
- Start date
casaguy
Senior Member
It was a particularly good edition of the NY Times this morning...
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A New Fashion Catches On in Paris: Cheap Bicycle Rentals
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: July 13, 2008
PARIS — They’re clunky, heavy and ugly, but they have become modish — and they are not this season’s platform shoes.
A system for renting Vélib’ bicycles has become hugely popular in Paris, where about 20,600 of the bikes are in service.
A year after the introduction of the sturdy gray bicycles known as Vélib’s, they are being used all over Paris. The bikes are cheap to rent because they are subsidized by advertising, and other major cities, including American ones, are exploring similar projects.
About 20,600 Vélib’ bicycles are in service here, with more than 1,450 self-service rental stations. The stations are only some 300 yards apart, and there are four times as many as there are subway stations, even in a city so well served by its metro system.
In the first year, the city says, there have been 27.5 million trips in this city of roughly 2.1 million people, many of them for daily commutes. On average, there are 120,000 trips a day. And on July 27, at the conclusion here of the Tour de France, 365 lucky Vélib’ riders will be chosen to ride along for a while and cross the finish line.
There are a Vélib’ Web site, Vélib’ fashions and a Vélib’ blog (http://blog.velib.paris.fr/blog); one recent posting discussed the best way to ride with a skirt. A kind of Vélib’ behavior has emerged, especially at the morning rush, with people swiftly checking for bikes in the best condition: tires inflated, chains still attached, baskets unstolen.
Natallya Ghyssaert, a 34-year-old doctor, has an annual subscription for 29 euros (about $46), which lets her use a bike whenever she wants for 30 minutes at a time without extra charges. She uses a Vélib’ two or three times a day, saying, “I love it; you can see Paris, you can exercise and stay out in the light of day.â€
The Vélib’ — a contraction of vélo for bike and liberté — can also be rented for a day or for a week, with a 150 euro (about $239) deposit taken from the user’s credit card if the bike is not returned. Usage fees over 30 minutes can rise steeply: two hours costs 7 euros (about $11). But 96 percent of all rides are less than 30 minutes, because bikes can be returned to any station.
No one knows quite how many trips by car or taxi are thereby avoided, but the “eco-friendly†nature of the Vélib’ has been much promoted in a country where juice companies warn of the risks to “our fragile planet†in lavish brochures on thick paper.
Benjamin Tomada, 30, a cook parking his Vélib’ near the Music Hall restaurant where he works, said: “I have a car but I don’t use it. It’s always better to take a bike than the metro.â€
Still, there have been significant problems with traffic congestion and safety, vandalism and theft. At least 3,000 of the bikes have been stolen — nearly 15 percent of the total, and twice original estimates. Some have been seen in Romania or found in shipping containers on their way to Morocco.
Wearing helmets is not compulsory in France, and three people have died on their rented Vélib’s, hit by buses or trucks.
The Vélib’ program in Paris was conceived by the Socialist mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, and the 10-year contract was won by JCDecaux, a major French public relations and advertising company with good political contacts, after defeating a rival bid from Clear Channel.
The deal is supposed to be good for Paris, but it promises to be extremely lucrative over time for JCDecaux.
Decaux got to erect 1,628 billboards to rent; it invested nearly $142 million to set up the rental bike system and the billboards, and must provide maintenance and replace stolen bikes; the city of Paris gets the proceeds from the usage of the bikes plus some royalties from Decaux.
So far, according to Rémy Pheulpin, the company’s executive vice president, it has put up 1,500 billboards in a year and expects to make about $94 million a year from them. The company stands to begin turning a considerable profit if not next year, then in the third year of its 10-year contract.
The city has received $31.5 million from subscribers and users of the bikes, plus an additional $5.5 million a year, fixed in the contract, from advertising royalties, according to Céline Lepault, the Vélib’ project manager for City Hall.
Mr. Pheulpin, whose company built similar but much smaller programs in 10 other cities, like Lyon and Rouen, said the company had learned that there were several keys to success: allowing subscriptions, so people get the sense that the bikes are free once they have paid their up-front fee; making sure the bike stations are ubiquitous and keeping the system “user-friendly.â€
In fact, the system is easy to use, with instructions in various languages, and bikes can be taken and returned quickly — so long as there are bikes available in good repair. But as many American tourists have discovered, only credit cards with built-in chips, common in Europe but unusual in America, are accepted by the terminals.
A Decaux subsidiary repairs the bikes — some 1,500 a day. The bikes are heavy, to try to prevent theft of key parts like gears, chains and electronic sensors, which measure time of rental. While an average bike weighs 33 pounds and is used for 124 miles a year, Mr. Pheulpin said, the three-gear Vélib’, specially designed and built by a French company in Hungary, weighs nearly 50 pounds and is built to be used more than 6,000 miles a year. Each bike costs $3,460.
As for safety, both the city and Decaux argue that bicycle accidents in Paris have risen only 7 percent compared with a 24 percent increase in bicycle use since early 2007. “Bicycles become fashionable, and the more bikes there are in a city, the safer it is, and the more the city will give space to bicyclists,†Mr. Pheulpin said.
The city and Decaux, after criticism following the latest death on June 23, say they will start a new safety advertising campaign in September. Vélib’ users are supposed to follow road rules, stop at red lights and stay off the sidewalks, but many do not.
Drivers in already congested Paris, never particularly bike-friendly, are not particularly happy with the bikes that further clog the streets or with Mr. Delanoë’s effort to reduce car traffic by 40 percent by 2020. In 2001, Yves Contassot, then deputy mayor for the environment, said of motorists: “It is only by making them live in hell that we’ll get drivers to renounce their cars.†Motorists remember.
Wide bus lanes were set up on major through streets like the Boulevard Montparnasse — considered too wide, termed “XXL†in the press. While nothing like Amsterdam, Paris is also building more bike lanes, as well as reducing parking spaces by putting Vélib’ stations in their place.
“This is what the French call a ‘false good idea,’ †said Ronald Koven, who drives a car here. “The traffic jams are far worse, and because of them, the pollution is, too.â€
Ms. Ghyssaert, the doctor, says she feels safe on the bicycles, “except in some bustling neighborhoods where there are too many cars.†She is not always so careful, she admitted. “I use the bike to dodge in and out of trafficand I know that the drivers are irritated to see so many Vélib’s.â€
Helmets would be a good idea, she said, offering a very French solution: “The city should get further subsidies and give Vélib’ subscribers vouchers to get helmets from big stores.â€
--------
A New Fashion Catches On in Paris: Cheap Bicycle Rentals
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: July 13, 2008
PARIS — They’re clunky, heavy and ugly, but they have become modish — and they are not this season’s platform shoes.
A system for renting Vélib’ bicycles has become hugely popular in Paris, where about 20,600 of the bikes are in service.
A year after the introduction of the sturdy gray bicycles known as Vélib’s, they are being used all over Paris. The bikes are cheap to rent because they are subsidized by advertising, and other major cities, including American ones, are exploring similar projects.
About 20,600 Vélib’ bicycles are in service here, with more than 1,450 self-service rental stations. The stations are only some 300 yards apart, and there are four times as many as there are subway stations, even in a city so well served by its metro system.
In the first year, the city says, there have been 27.5 million trips in this city of roughly 2.1 million people, many of them for daily commutes. On average, there are 120,000 trips a day. And on July 27, at the conclusion here of the Tour de France, 365 lucky Vélib’ riders will be chosen to ride along for a while and cross the finish line.
There are a Vélib’ Web site, Vélib’ fashions and a Vélib’ blog (http://blog.velib.paris.fr/blog); one recent posting discussed the best way to ride with a skirt. A kind of Vélib’ behavior has emerged, especially at the morning rush, with people swiftly checking for bikes in the best condition: tires inflated, chains still attached, baskets unstolen.
Natallya Ghyssaert, a 34-year-old doctor, has an annual subscription for 29 euros (about $46), which lets her use a bike whenever she wants for 30 minutes at a time without extra charges. She uses a Vélib’ two or three times a day, saying, “I love it; you can see Paris, you can exercise and stay out in the light of day.â€
The Vélib’ — a contraction of vélo for bike and liberté — can also be rented for a day or for a week, with a 150 euro (about $239) deposit taken from the user’s credit card if the bike is not returned. Usage fees over 30 minutes can rise steeply: two hours costs 7 euros (about $11). But 96 percent of all rides are less than 30 minutes, because bikes can be returned to any station.
No one knows quite how many trips by car or taxi are thereby avoided, but the “eco-friendly†nature of the Vélib’ has been much promoted in a country where juice companies warn of the risks to “our fragile planet†in lavish brochures on thick paper.
Benjamin Tomada, 30, a cook parking his Vélib’ near the Music Hall restaurant where he works, said: “I have a car but I don’t use it. It’s always better to take a bike than the metro.â€
Still, there have been significant problems with traffic congestion and safety, vandalism and theft. At least 3,000 of the bikes have been stolen — nearly 15 percent of the total, and twice original estimates. Some have been seen in Romania or found in shipping containers on their way to Morocco.
Wearing helmets is not compulsory in France, and three people have died on their rented Vélib’s, hit by buses or trucks.
The Vélib’ program in Paris was conceived by the Socialist mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, and the 10-year contract was won by JCDecaux, a major French public relations and advertising company with good political contacts, after defeating a rival bid from Clear Channel.
The deal is supposed to be good for Paris, but it promises to be extremely lucrative over time for JCDecaux.
Decaux got to erect 1,628 billboards to rent; it invested nearly $142 million to set up the rental bike system and the billboards, and must provide maintenance and replace stolen bikes; the city of Paris gets the proceeds from the usage of the bikes plus some royalties from Decaux.
So far, according to Rémy Pheulpin, the company’s executive vice president, it has put up 1,500 billboards in a year and expects to make about $94 million a year from them. The company stands to begin turning a considerable profit if not next year, then in the third year of its 10-year contract.
The city has received $31.5 million from subscribers and users of the bikes, plus an additional $5.5 million a year, fixed in the contract, from advertising royalties, according to Céline Lepault, the Vélib’ project manager for City Hall.
Mr. Pheulpin, whose company built similar but much smaller programs in 10 other cities, like Lyon and Rouen, said the company had learned that there were several keys to success: allowing subscriptions, so people get the sense that the bikes are free once they have paid their up-front fee; making sure the bike stations are ubiquitous and keeping the system “user-friendly.â€
In fact, the system is easy to use, with instructions in various languages, and bikes can be taken and returned quickly — so long as there are bikes available in good repair. But as many American tourists have discovered, only credit cards with built-in chips, common in Europe but unusual in America, are accepted by the terminals.
A Decaux subsidiary repairs the bikes — some 1,500 a day. The bikes are heavy, to try to prevent theft of key parts like gears, chains and electronic sensors, which measure time of rental. While an average bike weighs 33 pounds and is used for 124 miles a year, Mr. Pheulpin said, the three-gear Vélib’, specially designed and built by a French company in Hungary, weighs nearly 50 pounds and is built to be used more than 6,000 miles a year. Each bike costs $3,460.
As for safety, both the city and Decaux argue that bicycle accidents in Paris have risen only 7 percent compared with a 24 percent increase in bicycle use since early 2007. “Bicycles become fashionable, and the more bikes there are in a city, the safer it is, and the more the city will give space to bicyclists,†Mr. Pheulpin said.
The city and Decaux, after criticism following the latest death on June 23, say they will start a new safety advertising campaign in September. Vélib’ users are supposed to follow road rules, stop at red lights and stay off the sidewalks, but many do not.
Drivers in already congested Paris, never particularly bike-friendly, are not particularly happy with the bikes that further clog the streets or with Mr. Delanoë’s effort to reduce car traffic by 40 percent by 2020. In 2001, Yves Contassot, then deputy mayor for the environment, said of motorists: “It is only by making them live in hell that we’ll get drivers to renounce their cars.†Motorists remember.
Wide bus lanes were set up on major through streets like the Boulevard Montparnasse — considered too wide, termed “XXL†in the press. While nothing like Amsterdam, Paris is also building more bike lanes, as well as reducing parking spaces by putting Vélib’ stations in their place.
“This is what the French call a ‘false good idea,’ †said Ronald Koven, who drives a car here. “The traffic jams are far worse, and because of them, the pollution is, too.â€
Ms. Ghyssaert, the doctor, says she feels safe on the bicycles, “except in some bustling neighborhoods where there are too many cars.†She is not always so careful, she admitted. “I use the bike to dodge in and out of trafficand I know that the drivers are irritated to see so many Vélib’s.â€
Helmets would be a good idea, she said, offering a very French solution: “The city should get further subsidies and give Vélib’ subscribers vouchers to get helmets from big stores.â€
W. K. Lis
Superstar
The Vélib’ bicycles have a "different" look, which would help in discouraging theft of the bikes. If they look the same as everybody else's, they could disappear.
Minato ku
Active Member
I love such propaganda it is not with velib that Paris traffic is decrease, the solution is to build more subway lines outside the inner city.
Velib it is only 120,000 trip per day, compared with 5 million in the metro, 3 million in the RER and 1 million in the suburban trains.
They should also stop with Paris city 2.1 million inhabitants, there is 6.8 million in the dense core, over 10 million in the urban area, 12 million in the metropolitan area.
Welcome in Paris.
It is wore and worse every years.
Velib it is only 120,000 trip per day, compared with 5 million in the metro, 3 million in the RER and 1 million in the suburban trains.
They should also stop with Paris city 2.1 million inhabitants, there is 6.8 million in the dense core, over 10 million in the urban area, 12 million in the metropolitan area.
Welcome in Paris.
It is wore and worse every years.
DSC
Superstar
The Velib is a great idea but there are problems...
Thieves ride off with 3,000 of Paris's free bicycles
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
The self-service, Parisian bike-for-hire Рthe v̩lib' Рwas intended mostly for short rides when it was introduced 12 months ago.
More than 3,000 of the sturdy grey bicycles have gone missing since then. Some have turned up as far away as Romania and, according to one report, Australia. Another 3,000 have been deliberately destroyed or damaged. But the 16,000 bikes in circulation have proved extremely popular. The idea – a cheap, computerised system of self-service bicycles in racks on almost every street corner – has been exported to countries across the world, including Austria and Spain, with plans for a similar system in Finland, Australia and the United States.
The Parisian service will shortly be expanded into the city's suburbs. The Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, also hopes to extend the concept within a couple of years to self-service, electric cars, which will encourage commuters and Parisians to dump their own exhaust-emitting run-abouts.
In the space of one year the vélib' has become a Parisian institution, giving the streets and boulevards of the French capital a vague air of Amsterdam or Cambridge. M. Delanoë plans to celebrate his success by inviting 365 vélib users – or vélibeurs – to take part in an older, two-wheeled, French institution, the Tour de France. Vélibeurs, chosen at random from the 27,000 long-term subscribers, will be invited to cycle part of the course of the final day of the race just before the professional riders reach Paris on Sunday week.
The vélib' has had its problems. Three vélib' users have been killed. Motorists complain that the bikes have tempted thousands of unskilled, unwary cyclists on to the unforgiving streets of the French capital.
The 1,200 automated vélib' racks have also occupied thousands of spaces which used to be available for on-street parking. One enraged motorist ceremonially "hanged" a vélib' bike on a parking sign.
To hire a vélib', you have to buy, with a credit card, a subscription which costs €29 (£23) a year, €5 a week, or €1 a day. Each rental is free for the first half hour. The second half hour costs €1. The fee then rises steeply.
Each of the vélibs is used about seven times a day. The average journey time is 18 minutes. In other words, most vélib' journeys are free, apart from the subscription. You take a bike from one rack and leave it at another, anywhere in the city, so long as there is a space.
The vélib' has also been hailed as a triumphant, new form of win-win public service. All the proceeds go to the Paris Town Hall, which has pocketed €20m in the first year. All the costs are borne by the street advertising company JCDecaux. In return for providing and servicing the bikes, the firm has been given 1,600 free advertising spaces.
Thieves ride off with 3,000 of Paris's free bicycles
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
The self-service, Parisian bike-for-hire Рthe v̩lib' Рwas intended mostly for short rides when it was introduced 12 months ago.
More than 3,000 of the sturdy grey bicycles have gone missing since then. Some have turned up as far away as Romania and, according to one report, Australia. Another 3,000 have been deliberately destroyed or damaged. But the 16,000 bikes in circulation have proved extremely popular. The idea – a cheap, computerised system of self-service bicycles in racks on almost every street corner – has been exported to countries across the world, including Austria and Spain, with plans for a similar system in Finland, Australia and the United States.
The Parisian service will shortly be expanded into the city's suburbs. The Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, also hopes to extend the concept within a couple of years to self-service, electric cars, which will encourage commuters and Parisians to dump their own exhaust-emitting run-abouts.
In the space of one year the vélib' has become a Parisian institution, giving the streets and boulevards of the French capital a vague air of Amsterdam or Cambridge. M. Delanoë plans to celebrate his success by inviting 365 vélib users – or vélibeurs – to take part in an older, two-wheeled, French institution, the Tour de France. Vélibeurs, chosen at random from the 27,000 long-term subscribers, will be invited to cycle part of the course of the final day of the race just before the professional riders reach Paris on Sunday week.
The vélib' has had its problems. Three vélib' users have been killed. Motorists complain that the bikes have tempted thousands of unskilled, unwary cyclists on to the unforgiving streets of the French capital.
The 1,200 automated vélib' racks have also occupied thousands of spaces which used to be available for on-street parking. One enraged motorist ceremonially "hanged" a vélib' bike on a parking sign.
To hire a vélib', you have to buy, with a credit card, a subscription which costs €29 (£23) a year, €5 a week, or €1 a day. Each rental is free for the first half hour. The second half hour costs €1. The fee then rises steeply.
Each of the vélibs is used about seven times a day. The average journey time is 18 minutes. In other words, most vélib' journeys are free, apart from the subscription. You take a bike from one rack and leave it at another, anywhere in the city, so long as there is a space.
The vélib' has also been hailed as a triumphant, new form of win-win public service. All the proceeds go to the Paris Town Hall, which has pocketed €20m in the first year. All the costs are borne by the street advertising company JCDecaux. In return for providing and servicing the bikes, the firm has been given 1,600 free advertising spaces.
theowne
Active Member
Um, wouldn't it be fairly noticeable if you were riding around on/buying/selling a stolen "Velib"?
Fair Comment
New Member
A press release was issued by Cityhall this afternoon with great news for bicyclists and pedestrians on the waterfront. Find it below.
TORONTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
media release
Toronto – July 17, 2008: TEDCO and Redpath Sugar Agree to Improve Public Realm
The Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Redpath Sugar Ltd. to end its lease of TEDCO’s railway lines along Queen’s Quay Blvd. East.
Redpath agreed to give up its lease of the railway lines in a generous effort to support the City of Toronto and all potential users of the waterfront. With the railway tracks removed, the eastern portion of Queen’s Quay Blvd. will become more accessible to bicycle paths, be more pedestrian-friendly and remove barriers for redevelopment along the waterfront.
As part of revitalization of the surrounding area, Redpath Sugar will remain part of the City’s mixed-use waterfront as reflected in the Central Waterfront Plan confirmed by City Council. This agreement allows further redevelopment of the East Bayfront area to proceed and will also help accommodate the new Jarvis Slip park to be named Sugar Beach.
“With this agreement TEDCO continues to help make revitalization of the waterfront a reality,” said Jeffrey Steiner, President and CEO of TEDCO. “Part of the dynamic of a mixed-use waterfront is the fact that we have active, interesting and productive employment uses in close proximity to institutional, residential and commercial development.”
Jonathan Bamberger, President of Redpath Sugar Ltd. said, “We have worked hard with TEDCO to ensure the development of a vibrant waterfront as well as the continuity of our business. Losing the rail line is not positive for us but we felt the benefit to the City outweighed our concerns. We believe that this agreement is in the public interest and hope that careful thought is given to the interface of different types of waterfront users.”
“The city’s precinct plan did not specifically call for the removal of the rail lines so Redpath has been a good and cooperative corporate citizen in contributing to a better public realm”, TEDCO’s Steiner added.
The East Bayfront area consists of a mix of public and private land between Jarvis Street and Parliament Street, south of Lakeshore Blvd. The area will be transformed into a mixed-use community with employment, institutional, cultural and residential uses as part of a precinct plan developed by Waterfront Toronto.
TEDCO’s Corus Entertainment office and broadcast building is currently under construction just south of Queens Quay East which will employ more than 1,300 knowledge workers with occupancy slated for the fall of 2009.
TEDCO is the principal redevelopment corporation for the City of Toronto focused on commercial, industrial and mixed-use projects. Incorporated in 1986 as an Ontario Business Corporation, TEDCO plays a key role in brokering private and public sector partnerships to advance city building initiatives.
-30-
For more information:
Eva Varangu
Director, Communications & Public Affairs
Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO)
416.981.3869
evarangu@tedco.ca
www.tedco.ca
TORONTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
media release
Toronto – July 17, 2008: TEDCO and Redpath Sugar Agree to Improve Public Realm
The Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Redpath Sugar Ltd. to end its lease of TEDCO’s railway lines along Queen’s Quay Blvd. East.
Redpath agreed to give up its lease of the railway lines in a generous effort to support the City of Toronto and all potential users of the waterfront. With the railway tracks removed, the eastern portion of Queen’s Quay Blvd. will become more accessible to bicycle paths, be more pedestrian-friendly and remove barriers for redevelopment along the waterfront.
As part of revitalization of the surrounding area, Redpath Sugar will remain part of the City’s mixed-use waterfront as reflected in the Central Waterfront Plan confirmed by City Council. This agreement allows further redevelopment of the East Bayfront area to proceed and will also help accommodate the new Jarvis Slip park to be named Sugar Beach.
“With this agreement TEDCO continues to help make revitalization of the waterfront a reality,” said Jeffrey Steiner, President and CEO of TEDCO. “Part of the dynamic of a mixed-use waterfront is the fact that we have active, interesting and productive employment uses in close proximity to institutional, residential and commercial development.”
Jonathan Bamberger, President of Redpath Sugar Ltd. said, “We have worked hard with TEDCO to ensure the development of a vibrant waterfront as well as the continuity of our business. Losing the rail line is not positive for us but we felt the benefit to the City outweighed our concerns. We believe that this agreement is in the public interest and hope that careful thought is given to the interface of different types of waterfront users.”
“The city’s precinct plan did not specifically call for the removal of the rail lines so Redpath has been a good and cooperative corporate citizen in contributing to a better public realm”, TEDCO’s Steiner added.
The East Bayfront area consists of a mix of public and private land between Jarvis Street and Parliament Street, south of Lakeshore Blvd. The area will be transformed into a mixed-use community with employment, institutional, cultural and residential uses as part of a precinct plan developed by Waterfront Toronto.
TEDCO’s Corus Entertainment office and broadcast building is currently under construction just south of Queens Quay East which will employ more than 1,300 knowledge workers with occupancy slated for the fall of 2009.
TEDCO is the principal redevelopment corporation for the City of Toronto focused on commercial, industrial and mixed-use projects. Incorporated in 1986 as an Ontario Business Corporation, TEDCO plays a key role in brokering private and public sector partnerships to advance city building initiatives.
-30-
For more information:
Eva Varangu
Director, Communications & Public Affairs
Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO)
416.981.3869
evarangu@tedco.ca
www.tedco.ca
Dichotomy
Banned
Toronto is very bike friendly. Why, motorists open their doors for them all the time.................
H
Hydrogen
Guest
I guess one can laugh at that, but I know someone who died that way.
dowlingm
Senior Member
"The deal is supposed to be good for Paris, but it promises to be extremely lucrative over time for JCDecaux."
A similar scheme in Dublin is unravelling because of where JCDecaux wanted to stick their billboards, how the city staff were ready to let them and how heritage preservationists headed it some of it off at the OMB-equivalent.
No such thing as something for nothing!
A similar scheme in Dublin is unravelling because of where JCDecaux wanted to stick their billboards, how the city staff were ready to let them and how heritage preservationists headed it some of it off at the OMB-equivalent.
No such thing as something for nothing!
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Critical Mass Bicyclist Assaulted by NYPD
Watch this clip of an NYPD officer forcibly knocking a Critical Mass rider to the pavement last Friday. The assault was caught on video by a bystander in Times Square. Compounding the injustice, reports Gothamist, is what happened next:
The cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest.
Watch this clip of an NYPD officer forcibly knocking a Critical Mass rider to the pavement last Friday. The assault was caught on video by a bystander in Times Square. Compounding the injustice, reports Gothamist, is what happened next:
The cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest.
confusion
Active Member
What is the kicker for me on this story is that even though the police officer has been reduced to desk duty, the cyclist still is facing charges (At least that is what the media is reporting right now).
I would hope the charges against the cyclist are dropped. It doesn't matter what the context of the situation was, a police officer is expected to behave in an orderly manner (no force) when dealing with a non-violent situation.
Additionally, to give a little more context to the notion of the media embeleshing the fact that the Critical Mass group was going through red lights, let me give a little explaination. While it is true riders of Critical Mass go through red lights and block the traffic, and while this does not mesh entirely with the laws of the road, the approach of blocking traffic is indeed in the best safety for the cyclists involved in the Critical Mass bike ride. If riders were to stop at the light and allow traffic to flow between the group, traffic would immediately form a barrier between the two groups. As the ride would continue, the cyclists would become further and further apart allowing cars in the mix. As soon as that happens, and the car drivers still can't get around the cyclists due to the sheer number of cyclists, the car drivers become aggressive trying to pass or through bullying with their vehicles, and that is when someone gets hurt. Many local governments have turned a blind eye to this activity when bicycle groups perform this red light run for this very reason.
Toronto is no New York City when it comes to viewpoints. Sometimes on our Critical Mass bike rides, we will gain the support of some of Toronto's Bike Police and they will help perform the red light run to allow the riders remain safely together in a group. It's too bad this isn't always the case though.
And if this whole deal about Critical Mass has you scratching your head wondering what it is, dust off your bike and join the group the last Friday of every month at Spadina and Bloor... 6:30pm. I have only started to go this year, but it's such a pleasure riding in a sea of hundreds of other bicycles, meeting the people you share the roads and neighbourhood with. Apart from what the media says, they are a very pleasant bunch with lots of character and diversity!
I would hope the charges against the cyclist are dropped. It doesn't matter what the context of the situation was, a police officer is expected to behave in an orderly manner (no force) when dealing with a non-violent situation.
Additionally, to give a little more context to the notion of the media embeleshing the fact that the Critical Mass group was going through red lights, let me give a little explaination. While it is true riders of Critical Mass go through red lights and block the traffic, and while this does not mesh entirely with the laws of the road, the approach of blocking traffic is indeed in the best safety for the cyclists involved in the Critical Mass bike ride. If riders were to stop at the light and allow traffic to flow between the group, traffic would immediately form a barrier between the two groups. As the ride would continue, the cyclists would become further and further apart allowing cars in the mix. As soon as that happens, and the car drivers still can't get around the cyclists due to the sheer number of cyclists, the car drivers become aggressive trying to pass or through bullying with their vehicles, and that is when someone gets hurt. Many local governments have turned a blind eye to this activity when bicycle groups perform this red light run for this very reason.
Toronto is no New York City when it comes to viewpoints. Sometimes on our Critical Mass bike rides, we will gain the support of some of Toronto's Bike Police and they will help perform the red light run to allow the riders remain safely together in a group. It's too bad this isn't always the case though.
And if this whole deal about Critical Mass has you scratching your head wondering what it is, dust off your bike and join the group the last Friday of every month at Spadina and Bloor... 6:30pm. I have only started to go this year, but it's such a pleasure riding in a sea of hundreds of other bicycles, meeting the people you share the roads and neighbourhood with. Apart from what the media says, they are a very pleasant bunch with lots of character and diversity!
TKTKTK
Senior Member
So if me and my car buddies want to drive in a pack, staying together as we cruise, we can just roll through reds too? Bravo!
Critical Mass should do something ground breaking in the world of cycling; a city run where they abide by every single road law applicable.
Anyway. What was the cop doing before he pushed the cyclist over? Was he calling for the guy to stop? It looked like he was just crossing the street, then kinda ran toward the cyclist. It'll be interesting to hear what comes out of it.
Critical Mass should do something ground breaking in the world of cycling; a city run where they abide by every single road law applicable.
Anyway. What was the cop doing before he pushed the cyclist over? Was he calling for the guy to stop? It looked like he was just crossing the street, then kinda ran toward the cyclist. It'll be interesting to hear what comes out of it.
junctionist
Senior Member
The thing that most observers miss is the premise that in a large group, they are the traffic. They aren't blocking traffic.
TKTKTK
Senior Member
That's not really true though, right? They're riding through red lights, ignoring cross-traffic with right of way.
They're parades, not traffic.