I’ve been biking here for the last 20 years. (Before the bike lanes!) For me, basically 95% of bikers are fine. 5% suck. Just like cars.
I also hate the 5% of bikers that suck.
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For me the 5% that suck aren’t because they go through red lights, or down the wrong way. I do this all of the time, and I’m never close to pedestrians. Pedestrians don’t even know I exist.
I don’t go on sidewalks, but I’m guessing that 95% of bikers on sidewalks are about to stop for a delivery and are going pretty slow.
The 5% that suck, for me, are the ones which do the “fly by” the commenter is talking about. Some biker going 25mph on their electric bike that gets within 6 inches of you.
This also happens with cars, and let me tell you, with a car, it makes my hair stand on end. It seems like the driver is saying, “let me show you how much I hate you.”
Years ago when a car would do this to me (when the bike lanes just started coming out, there were a lot of people who were super mad), it would trigger a fight response, and I would catch up and prevent them from moving - just make them sit there - they would go batshit crazy. In retrospect, that was probably pretty dumb to do.
I think the answer to the biker problem, is not threats against bikers, but basically, make some thoroughfares biker only. Like all of Broadway, and maybe 1st or 8th ave. Mamdani should follow through on his campaign to hold Uber eats and etc, accountable. And then some sort of marketing, “Don’t be an asshole - don’t buzz people - this means you, delivery drivers and Bros on city bikes!”
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There are also some other undercurrents in play here. I wouldn’t assume leftreddit is in this camp, but a certain percentage of NYC is.
There is a segment of NYC’s population that “secretly” hates the immigrants and/or black people. Most of the delivery bikers are immigrants. And they are mostly black. It used to be most of the delivery bikers were Hispanic, but I think that has shifted. I don’t know real numbers though…
So, not only is this guy zooming past fast for a delivery, but he’s also an immigrant and he’s also black. Really triggers some people.
–
Anyhow…
I hope that NYC doesn’t go back to the anti biker stance. But I do hope they put weight and speed restrictions on bikes.
I’ve been biking here for the last 20 years. (Before the bike lanes!) For me, basically 95% of bikers are fine. 5% suck. Just like cars.
I also hate the 5% of bikers that suck.
–
For me the 5% that suck aren’t because they go through red lights, or down the wrong way. I do this all of the time, and I’m never close to pedestrians. Pedestrians don’t even know I exist.
I don’t go on sidewalks, but I’m guessing that 95% of bikers on sidewalks are about to stop for a delivery and are going pretty slow.
The 5% that suck, for me, are the ones which do the “fly by” the commenter is talking about. Some biker going 25mph on their electric bike that gets within 6 inches of you.
This also happens with cars, and let me tell you, with a car, it makes my hair stand on end. It seems like the driver is saying, “let me show you how much I hate you.”
Years ago when a car would do this to me (when the bike lanes just started coming out, there were a lot of people who were super mad), it would trigger a fight response, and I would catch up and prevent them from moving - just make them sit there - they would go batshit crazy. In retrospect, that was probably pretty dumb to do.
I think the answer to the biker problem, is not threats against bikers, but basically, make some thoroughfares biker only. Like all of Broadway, and maybe 1st or 8th ave. Mamdani should follow through on his campaign to hold Uber eats and etc, accountable. And then some sort of marketing, “Don’t be an asshole - don’t buzz people - this means you, delivery drivers and Bros on city bikes!”
–
There are also some other undercurrents in play here. I wouldn’t assume leftreddit is in this camp, but a certain percentage of NYC is.
There is a segment of NYC’s population that “secretly” hates the immigrants and/or black people. Most of the delivery bikers are immigrants. And they are mostly black. It used to be most of the delivery bikers were Hispanic, but I think that has shifted. I don’t know real numbers though…
So, not only is this guy zooming past fast for a delivery, but he’s also an immigrant and he’s also black. Really triggers some people.
–
Anyhow…
I hope that NYC doesn’t go back to the anti biker stance. But I do hope they put weight and speed restrictions on bikes.