A Meritless Lawsuit Against the Bike Lanes

Watching from Lalaland, the filing of a lawsuit against the Prospect Park West bike lanes makes me want to cry. What an utter waste of paper and time for the judges, clerks and lawyers involved. And this hits on the same day that the Daily News runs a piece saying New York City may soon beat out LA for worst commute crown.

Former DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, the driving force behind the "Smear Current DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan" campaign, must be very proud.

With cities like Los Angeles and Chicago lining up to do what NY showed us how to do with bike lanes and other street and public space improvements, New Yorkers siding with the bike lane opponents would do well to step back and look at how shortsighted they are being.

Perhaps the most laughable part of the lawsuit is the allegation that the DOT Commissioner exchanged email with an editor of Streetsblog, a group that has been dogged in its pursuit of a safer, more pedestrian and bike-friendly New York. If encouraging the traditional press and blogs to write pieces supportive of what you are doing is improper then perhaps someone should speak to Weinshall, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Mayoral Candidate Anthony Weiner about using the New York Times and CBS2's Marcia Kramer to do their bidding.

Here's hoping the judge who hears this meritless lawsuit has the vision to impose considerable sanctions on the Gibson Dunn and Crutcher attorney, a donor to Chuck Schumer's (AKA Mr. Iris Weinshall's) campaign.

If I were the judge, for starters I'd take away the lawyer's SUV and ban him, Iris, Chuck and the rest of these folks who pretend to speak for New York from driving in the congested city.

Yours in transit,
Joel

 

 

 

Follow Joel Epstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thejoelepstein

Comments

[alpina]

02:43 PM on 03/09/2011

While I do agree that there is a large and powerful contingent hellbent on blocking any kind of alternative modes of transportation, as a professional urban planner and a person who deals with pedestrianization and bike paths all over the country, bike lanes are an anachronism. Cars are larger, traffic is more congested and carving out 3ft on the edge of an already crowded highway is not how you increase bike usage. Placing bicycles and cars in close proximity is inherently dangerous and if you've ever had your handlebars clipped by the mirror of an SUV or visa versa, you will understand that fact first hand. Bike paths must be dedicated and away from vehicle traffic not in tandem. So this may be a blessing in disquise for a safer, more usable alternative in the long run.

[thejoelepstein]

04:17 PM on 03/09/2011

Thanks for reading and for your comments. That's what is so special about the NYC DOT's Prospect Park West bike lanes, protected from cars and trucks by a floating parking lane. See the photo that accompanies my last piece on this topic, "Bike Lane Battle of the Bulge," at: http://huff.to/epMoeH

[wkgreen]

11:23 AM on 03/10/2011

As a Brooklyn resident and cyclist you are partly correct. But the bike lane that you describe - known as a Class II lane - is exactly what Weinshall's group wants. They would remove a beautiful 2 way bike lane that my kids use, protected by a lane of parked cars with a door zone (Class I) and replace it with dangerous painted one way paths on southbound PPW and adjacent northbound 8th Ave.

In most places I don't have a problem with Class II's. NYC is a congested city where territory must be shared; it's impossible to put Class I's everywhere, and I don't have to use them (sometimes it's impossible), but lanes of any kind give cyclists presence and legitimacy that may otherwise be denied by drivers. There is certainly a place for Class I lanes, however, and we could use more. On PPW in particular placement there is a wise decision because the reduction of one traffic lane means that the number of southbound lanes of moving traffic through the neighborhood is now equal to the number of north bound lanes. This has had a dramatic impact on the number of cars that no longer are able to use PPW as a speedway. Also as the main conduit for access to Prospect Park it makes infinite sense to put in protected lanes for use by families and recreationists.

Rest assured that if Weinshall and her buddies have their way my kids will go back to using the

[wkgreen]

11:32 AM on 03/10/2011

(cont'd.)

sidewalk.