22 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 10, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
THE QUEENS
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Bike lanes & road responsibility
Most New Yorkers believe the most heated rivalry in our town is the
Subway Series, the annual battle between the Yankees and Mets (and their
respective fans) for bragging rights on the baseball diamond.
But they’re wrong. If you really want to see passionate views and heated
arguments, talk about the growth of bike lanes.
Proof of this can be found in the incredibly seething comments by proponents
and opponents of bike lanes left on our Facebook post about the city’s
determination to expand the bike lane network throughout Queens.
“Bicycles do not pay taxes, tolls, registration fees, insurance,” said one bike
lane opponent, whose name we’ll withhold. “Th ey have no right to use roads
paid for and designed for cars!”
“Or maybe bikes and cars shouldn’t even co exist in the same lanes?” said
a bike lane supporter. “Instead of blaming cyclist (sic), why don’t you realize
that cyclists need their own dedicated lane away from traffi c?”
Th ere are plenty of other comments both for and against bike lanes.
Unfortunately, we don’t have enough space here to fi t them all.
In examining the comments, however, you can see two very divergent point
of views emerge.
Bike lane opponents believe bicyclists take too many risks and get involved
in too many accidents. Like drivers, they argue, bike owners should be obligated
to register their vehicles, obtain licenses to use them and purchase
insurance. (We’ll tackle this particular point in a future editorial.)
Bike lane supporters, on the other hand, believe they are entitled to use the
same roads as drivers and pedestrians to get around. Th ey also point out that
bicycles are becoming a more preferable and aff ordable mode of transportation
than the automobile.
As with most hot-button issues, there’s plenty of truth on both sides.
Bicycle accidents have risen across the city, and yes, there are some bicyclists
who take unnecessary risks on the roads that cause accidents. But drivers also
take unnecessary risks -- with much larger and heavier vehicles than bicycles
-- and play roles in accidents that oft en have deadly consequences.
Th at’s a key reason as to why the city embarked on building a bike lane
network. While it has resulted in the loss of traffi c lanes, the whole point of
having dedicated bike lanes is to give bicyclists a safe place to ride away from
larger vehicles.
Both drivers and bicyclists have a mutual responsibility to follow the rules
of the road. But make no mistake: tearing up the bike lanes, as some desire,
would only make the roads less safe for everyone. To believe otherwise is to
revel in mere fantasy.
STORY: Group attacks 20-year-old man on Bayside street with a pipe
and a handsaw: cops
SUMMARY: Police are looking for a group of assailants who delivered
a beatdown to a man on a Bayside street on Thursday night.
REACH: 34,769 people (as of 8/7/17)