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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Politics Your Andy Rooney Moment: Bike Lanes On One-Way Streets ARE ALSO ONE WAY

Posted by Jonny Diamond on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 11:47 AM

Look, I'm as thrilled as the next guy about all the bike lanes that are popping up across the city; hell, some of my best friends are cyclists. But listen here and listen good, cyclists: unless explicitly demarcated otherwise (e.g. Kent Avenue), a bike lane on a one-way street is ALSO ONE WAY. At least a half-dozen times in the last few months I've been crossing the street (Berry Street in Williamsburg, to be specific) and have almost been hit by a bike going the wrong way; on one occasion I was walking my dogs and they came within a hair's breadth of getting nailed. I know that one is supposed to look both ways and everything, and I do, but at night, with no lights, a bicycle can just sort of glide along... UNTIL WHAM, TOTAL DESTRUCTION. I've even seen a couple of dudes talking on their cell phones while biking the wrong way.

Look, I know that everyone is an asshole and thinks they aren't, but I've always thought that car people were the most guilty of this particular self-deception. So please, if you're reading this and you're ever biking through Williamsburg, remember that there are multiple streets with multiple bike lanes going in all kinds of crazy directions... including, I am sure, the direction you are going. So for your own safety, take them.

Also, I AM OLD AND CRANKY. Also.

Tags: Biking in New York, Bike paths, Danger, One-way streets, Civilization, Everyone's an asshole, I am Andy Rooney

        
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Comments (2)

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I've seen people on the street almost get clobbered by this very thing. The rules of the road are the rules of the road. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists should all be obeying. That said, I'm not gonna say I'm innocent and I have indeed rode my bicycle the wrong way down Drigg's Ave...but I'm saying its not right and well...be careful!

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Posted by JWalker on November 17, 2009 at 1:02 PM

I wholeheartedly agree with this. The thing about being on a bike is that it's very fast and easy to, say, go one block over from Bedford to Driggs to go the proper way on the street. This is one of those things that really gets me fired up. I ride my bike quite a lot and it's really not that hard to go the correct way on a one-way street.

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Posted by hewins on November 20, 2009 at 11:26 AM

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