DNAinfo.com Reports Police Among Worst Offenders Blocking Manhattan's Bike Lanes

NEW YORK, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As NYC works to expand its bike lane system and make bike riding safer, a recent survey of Manhattan's bike lanes by DNAinfo.com (http://www.dnainfo.com), Manhattan's leading hyper-local news website, found police vehicles to be the biggest obstacle for riders, forcing them into potentially dangerous situations.  

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110614/NY19595)

DNAinfo.com reporter Ben Fractenberg rode the city's bike lanes starting Downtown, traveled north to Washington Heights, and traced his way from the east to the west side. His story provides a rundown of what he found in each neighborhood, as well as a video of his experience.

Fractenberg found one of the worst stretches for bike riders directly behind a NYPD precinct in Harlem.  On a recent day, 27 police vehicles parked behind the 28th Precinct station on St. Nicholas Avenue butted into a stretch of bike lane on both sides of the two-way street.

"I was surprised to find so many challenges to riding my bike through the city," said Fractenberg.  "I encountered a number of NYPD police cars using the lanes as their personal parking spaces, livery cabs and delivery trucks blocking access, as well as pedestrians constantly wandering into the lanes without looking where they were going."

Another of the worst locations for blocked bike lanes was First Avenue from 72nd to 119th streets, where DNAinfo found delivery trucks clogging lanes and forcing cyclists into a dangerous gauntlet between a stream of traffic, trucks in the bike lane, and parked cars along the curb.

In the city's tourist-magnets such as Times Square, pedestrians endanger riders and themselves by wandering into the lanes randomly, without looking.  Bike messengers and delivery people are also a constant threat to cyclists -- with some riding against traffic with plastic bags swinging from their handlebars.

To read the full story and see a brief video, visit http://www.dnainfo.com/20110614/manhattan/police-among-worst-offenders-blocking-manhattans-bike-lanes.

About DNAinfo.com

DNAinfo.com (http://www.dnainfo.com) provides neighborhood news for Manhattan residents straight from the streets where they live. DNAinfo.com focuses on original neighborhood content that covers everything from crime and education, to food and drink.  The site's funding and strategic vision come from entrepreneur and Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts.

SOURCE DNAinfo.com