Keen-eyed Roosevelt Islander Janet Falk reports a perilous new bike safety hazard on the Roosevelt Island Bridge. And her pictures led to awareness of even greater dangers ahead.
By David Stone / Photos: Janet Falk
A public relations specialist, Falk called in the hazard to the city’s 311 hotline.
Noting the build up in both bike lanes, Falk said, “With spring approaching, this is very dangerous for bicyclists.”
Riders should use extra caution.
The new bike safety hazard hints at worse ahead…
Another view brings attention back to RIOC’s badly flawed plan for a helix bike ramp.
These concerns were first raised by activist Frank Farance in a detailed report submitted to RIOC. As a reward, the state agency banned him from their bike safety committee. While affirmed their resistance to opinions already established within 591 Main Street, RIOC has not disclosed the names of any committee members.
Site lines are very short for both cyclists and drivers. But RIOC’s plans call for bike riders to cross one or two lanes of active car and truck traffic, right here.
Getting there, deep thinkers at the state agency threw away safe plans donated by Cornell Tech. Instead, they decided that forcing unprotected cyclist to dodge cars and trucks for the first time was a bright idea.
If we see the rise in ridership the state projects, ignored safety hazards become critical. But there is no indication that anyone’s giving bike safety much attention. As mild weather returned, this week, the standard chaos of bicyclists running stop signs, going the wrong way on one-way streets and scattering pedestrians on sidewalks returned with it.
And one other thing returned: the absence of Public Safety doing anything about it. The new bike safety hazard adds one more wrinkle to the fabric of that story.
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I do not usually write ahead of the week’s rhythm. Fridays suit an old woman. They allow time for tea, rereading, and the small mercy of correcting one’s own excessive cleverness. But this cannot wait for Friday.
