Readers: Bikers and cars don’t mix
COURIER LIFE, NOVEMBER 8-14, 2019 45
An 87-year-old bicyclist is in
critical condition after a car
struck him in Midwood, according
to police.
The cyclist was riding near
the intersection of Ocean Parkway
near Avenue P shortly after
10 am when a 36-year-old motorist
behind the wheel of a Cadillac
struck him.
First responders rushed the
biker to Maimonides hospital in
critical condition, according to
authorities.
Police Department spokesman
Martin Brown claimed the bicyclist
had run a red light when the
incident occurred — but witnesses
contradict Brown’s claims, saying
the car “came out of nowhere,” according
to the Daily News.
The driver has not been arrested
but was issued a sobriety
test at the scene, and the investigation
remains ongoing.
Twenty-fi ve cyclists have died
in car accidents in New York City
this year — including 16 in Brooklyn
— marking a sharp increase
from the 10 biker killed city-wide
last year.
Readers had a lot to say online:
I’m over 70 and i really think
that an 87 year old does not have the
physical ability and refl exes to ride a
bike on city streets. He should have
walked, taken a cab or limited his
biking to a city park.
Fiddle Faddel from Flatlands
I’m sorry this person was hit but
not every street was meant for bicycling.
When are politicians going to
realize this?
Christina T from Bensonhurst
Uh, hello! What did you expect it’s
hard enough for motorists to drive
around this crazy city now. Add on
thousands of cyclists and you’re creating
the perfect storm. There’s hardly
any room for cars to maneuver in the
city. Now you add on bike lanes... have
you lost your mind? It’s legal suicide
and the mayor’s hand is full of blood.
Tony from Canarsie
Police lying and in favor of the
driver as usual, no wait for the investigation
like when they shoot
someone
Ilan from Midwood
How is it possible the police know
what happened when witnesses say
otherwise? In any investigation witness
statements are taken and appropriate
actions are taken. When
a driver runs down a pedestrian or
bicyclist the police only believe the
one that caused the injury. There is
something seriously wrong.
Joe from Bensonhurst
Another self-entitled motorist
causing carnage on out streets. Life
in prison, take all his/her assets.
When is our beloved mayor going to
fi x this problem?
Local from Here
Those who bike to work, to do
their errands are just as entitled to
do so as drivers. Bike lanes are to
accommodate the thousands of New
Yorkers, taxpayers just like you,
who bike as a necessity every day.
Drivers need to not be reckless and
to respect others on the road.
Sharon Goldman from
Midwood
The camera at that intersection
showed that the cyclist did have the
green light. The police have made
an error which they have admitted
and a reckless driver can still drive
recklessly.
Sharon Mishkin from
Midwood
Please stop the hate. Camera was
already checked. Bikers running
red lights must stop!!!
Ben from Brooklyn
Share the streets. There’s room
for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor
vehicles. Be aware, drive cautiously,
and don’t hit anyone. It’s simple.
Concerned from Greenwood
How about some bike equity!
Bike advocates accused the
city of constructing bike lanes to
protect rich, white Brooklynites,
while leaving impoverished cyclists
of color to fend for themselves
at a meeting in Crown
Heights on Wednesday.
“A lot of the changes that we’ve
seen have been in predominantly
gentrifi ed neighborhoods that
have a lot of white settlers or a lot
of money,” E. Flatbush resident
Mohamed Bah said at the meeting
hosted by state Sen. Zellnor Myrie
(D–Crown Heights). “In Park
Slope the bike lanes are separated
from the street. In my neighborhood...
there’s only a white line
that’s separating me from the
cars.”
Myrie — whose 20th Senate
District has only one protected
cycle lane, located on Eastern
Parkway, east of Prospect Park
— hosted the gathering at a Sterling
Place health center to discuss
bike lane equity with about 100
resident cyclists and transit advocates,
who pored over an interactive
map showing cycling paths
throughout the borough.
Park Slope — while not exactly
overfl owing with protected bike
lanes — features both uptown and
crosstown protected bike lanes
on Prospect Park West and Ninth
Street respectively, and the Department
of Transportation is
currently hard at work constructing
a third protected cycling path
along Fourth Avenue.
And the Brownstone neighborhood,
not unlike parts of Crown
Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant,
is fl ush with unprotected bike
lanes, which grow scarce in black
communities such as Flatbush, E.
Flatbush, East New York, and Canarsie.
Readers spoke out online:
How about carriage lanes...
Ben from Brooklyn
They demand so much, all the
time and give so little. Tax those
bikes and give some relief to us pedestrians.
Let them pay too for their
special interests hobby
Fiddle Faddle from Flatlands
What a total fabrication. I was
in Bed Sty several weeks ago near
the Franklin Ave shuttle stop. Saw
plenty of African American residents
and plenty of bike paths. Some
people will say anything to get what
they want. Just look at Trump,
Cuomo and deBlasio for some obvious
examples
Hee Bee Jee Bees from
Flatbush
We are in southern Brooklyn with
bike paths and they are ruining the
neighborhood. One lane in and one
lane out of our neighborhood. Not able
to pass cars without going into head
on traffi c, any stopped car, bus or delivery
truck stops everything dead in
its tracks. Bike lanes are a nuisance.
You can have them because we fought
against them and they shoved them
down our throats. We had a fi re and
it was extremely diffi cult for the fi re
trucks to get down the blocks with
the new traffi c lanes and bike paths.
An accident waiting to happen.
Kathy from GB
Regarding bike lanes,those areas
should be careful of what they wish
for and be thankful for small favors.
T from Bath Beach
DeBlasio and city council has just
budgeted almost 2 billion dollars for
the bike lobby and their bike lanes
and still it isn’t enough. How about
more money spent for public transportation,
education and housing instead?
Those pedal pushers are just
plain greedy.
Harre’ Krispes from Gerritsen
Creek
Local taxes pay for roads, not
car registration. People (boomers)
should educate themselves before
spewing false “facts”.
Local from Here
Without exaggeration, thousands
of residents of South Brooklyn use
bicycles to commute to their jobs, do
errands and for all everyday necessities.
In fact,many in Gerritsen Beach,
Mill Basin and Marine Park use the
bike lanes heavily. The FDNY uses
the bike lanes to get to fi res because
there are no cars blocking them. Bike
lanes are an asset. I work in Midtown
and have coworkers who bike in every
day from all over the city. Using
bikes is a necessity to many not a
hobby. Cyclists are not a lobby, they
are your neighbors.
Susan Rosenfeld from Sheepshead
Bay
Through various taxes and fees,
car-drivers pay for their right to
use motor vehicles. Pedal pushers
should do the same thing for them to
make demands . We are all pedestrians
and we all pay general taxes. Let
them pay their fair share. Millions
of sidewalkers walk, not just a few
thousand. Marion
Francis from Marine Park
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