City Council member Rosie Mendez is sponsoring this workshop Tuesday afternoon at Cooper Union for business owners relying on bike deliveries.
The commercial bike law was approved in October 2012 (and went into effect in April 2013) after complaints about bikers speeding and weaving down sidewalks
Per the law: Commercial bicyclists are now required to carry an identification card and wear helmets and reflective upper body clothing with the business' name and cyclist's ID number on the back.
The problem with this law is that there is no enforcement mechanism.
ReplyDeleteBusinesses that employ these errant bicyclists should face heavy fines--like five figures for repeat offenses.
I wish the city would fine people that walk their dogs on my block (12th A-B) and leave shit behind, sometimes they actually pick it up with a plastic bag and then throw the bag on the sidewalk?
ReplyDeleteWow Rosie Mendez is taking a stand on something!! You can bet your last dollar that it will go no where. These quality of life initiatives (fine the bicyclists who ride on the sidewalk for whole blocks instead of in the bike lanes? Fine bicyclists who don't obey the traffic laws?) usually are good sound bits or announcements in a Council Members self-congratulatory bulletins mailed to district constituents, but in reality they are nothing more than smoke screens designed to make us think that our elected officials are doing something. Hey Rosie, how about telling us what is happening with the disappearing "island" on Third Avenue. How about telling us what you are doing to enforce regulations about noise from the ever expanding bar scene on the East Village? How about telling us what you are doing to combat rapacious landlords whose greed is destroying the quality of life?
ReplyDeleteSuch a joke. Looking 360 degrees at every crosswalk or simply walking down the sidewalk I am nearly mowed down by bikes a dozen times a day every day and while messengers and recreational/non-commercial cyclists are part of the problem, the biggest offenders are the delivery guys, and don't even get me started on the supposedly illegal electric bikes in ever-increasing use for food delivery and far more terrifying as a prospect for collision. WHEN is the city going to step up enforcement here? I'm a lifetime New Yorker and this is my number one quality of life issue by miles.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see a delivery person wearing any kind of identifying information anywhere on their person, at least, not in a font size large enough for me to read as they swoop by half an inch away from the tip of my nose.
ReplyDeleteNot trying to be a wiseguy here but it does seem like more often than not when I see a delivery bike, it's going the wrong way on a one-way street or avenue. The Latin guys are usually courteous about it (yeah I know I'm being a racist generalizer) but the Chinese electro-bicycles could use some better manners. Anything with a motor needs to be prohibited from the bike lanes. Pedal pushers have enough bullshit to deal with in there.
ReplyDeleteThey should have posted this in Mandarin or Cantonese.
ReplyDeleteI see delivery guys wearing bibs bearing restaurant names all the time.
ReplyDeleteRosie's office did distribute flyers in several languages...
ReplyDeleteoutlaw those electric bicycles and start seriously fining the delivery guys and citibikers who ride against traffic.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 12:31, Fine only delivery guys and citibikers? Not regular bikers though. Ha!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I've seen many delivery bikers with identifying vests/shirts. Whoever doesn't see them needs stronger bifocals.
The electric bicycles should be treated as any other motorized vehicle.
ReplyDeletePeople who ride them should have a driver's license, and they should be subject to the same legal rules that motorcyclists are--not that there is much law enforcement of this sort in the People's Republic of Havana on the Hudson.
And why is Rosie having the meeting at 3 pm when lots of us are working?
Why not in the early evening?
@1:26
ReplyDeleteThat's why.
Not saying delivery guys arent reckless, because they are, but if you find yourself getting clipped at the nose all the time you probably need to increase your awareness. This is a busy city, can't just be stepping off curbs blindly no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI call for a license plate for ALL bikes. You wanna use streets and run red lights like cars? Then be identified like cars.
ReplyDelete