The single biggest missed opportunity of Bloomberg’s 3rd term in New York was not dealing with FDNY and NYPD parking ridiculousness. You can always tell you are near a fire station or police department because it looks like god tipped over a box of vehicles. Official and personnel. I happen to work for a different city agency, and can tell you that I would be ticked and / or disciplined if I did what FDNY and NYPD personnel do on a regular basis. In fact, my agency’s deputy commissioner had her official car towed by NYPD for illegal parking (not a bike lane), and I had to driver her to the impound lot to pick it up. She had to pay just like everyone else. The reason NYPD/FDNY get away with it is because of their union strength in mayoral elections. Bloomberg didn’t endorse anyone and couldn’t run again. It was probably the best and last chance we will ever have to curb the dickish behavior by our bravest who can’t take a subway. Ever.
I get more upset about cops parked on the wrong side of the road. I took a couple of these people to task once. It was right after a bend in the road and two months after two police did it on a bend in a country road at night and got themselves killed.
and safe too!
You’re in an armoured shell, what could go wrong?
There are a number of sites dedicated to showing people illegally parking in bike lanes. Also, it doesn’t matter that there’s a person in the vehicle, it’s still illegal and dangerous to block the bike lane.
Do they really need a citation? I mean what’s your reasoning for thinking that LESS cycling infrastructure promotes safer cycling? Since you’re the one arguing from such a completely bizarre position, perhaps it’s on you to back up your argument instead?
“Occasional”? I doubt you use a bicycle very often.
Actually, no. If there isn’t special bike infrastructure, people ob bikes usually have to use the roadway. That’s something exclusive car users very often do not understand.
This is lame. Unless I were going to grab a coffee, if I were a cop on a call, I’d be parking exactly where they park. In many of those photos, there are no viable alternatives - and If you were in trouble and called 911, would you want the cop hesitating because he had to worry about finding a parking spot outside of the friggin’ bike lane?
Be thankful you even have a “bike lane”.
That said, there are absolutely many cops who are arrogant assholes who consistently break the laws they enforce on everyone else. I see it every day.
If he’s on emergency, then he leaves the flashing lights on, ISTR.
Oh cool, there’s a driver in the van. That means I can just cycle straight through it.
IIRC there was a guy who was going around filming himself crashing (deliberately) into cars parked in bike lanes.
When I saw this posted on BoingBoing, I had to wonder whether bike-hate or cop-hate would win in the comments. Bike-hate wins!
Everyone who is having this discussion about cyclists sucking more than drivers needs to leave, read Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt, examine their biases, and then come back.
Traffic laws don’t apply to law enforcement, technically.
The NYPD is at least consistent, as they don’t bother to enforce these laws at all.
Overwhelmingly, it is not a matter of necessity. I would have no problem with a police car, or ambulance or fire truck for that matter, in the bike lane when it is necessary. But I just can’t believe it is necessary that often. There are police cars parked in the bike lane outside of the precinct on Classon and Dekalb every day. Just about 24/7. You can see it on google street view too! This is just where they park. But I’m the jerk for daring to merge with traffic for 15 seconds when there are multiple cop cars and a dumpster in my way.
As for viable alternatives: in at least this instance, there is a large parking lot across the street. I have never seen it full. I don’t know who owns it (might be Pratt) but I’m sure they could figure something out.
I am thankful for bike lanes, but this isn’t charity. It’s public infrastructure.
The number of cyclists as well as compliance improved dramatically when Chicago turned one side of Dearborn St. into a semi-protected bike with bike specific traffic lights. It’s really kind of a no-brainer that cyclists will flock to certain streets where they are protected better by cycling oriented infrastructure.
Hopefully, with a great big ugly steel schwinn that left lots of damage while remaining rideable.
Or they could dismount and use pedestrian infrastructure.
That would be this guy:
And yeah, I, too, wondered whether cop hate or cyclist hate would win this comment thread. Cyclist hate seems to be winning, but it’s still pretty close!
As for the image in the OP - that van not only is blocking the bike lane, it also appears to be jutting out into traffic quite nicely too. Seriously, wtf?
