Bloomberg to Bikers: Screw You!

With all the pale green bike lanes going in across town, you might think we have a bicycle-friendly mayor. Nothing could be further from the truth. The bike lanes are really his method of hectoring motorists by eliminating car-traffic lanes--as are the pedestrian malls at Times Square and Herald Square--to get revenge for the defeat of his congestion pricing scheme. How do we know? The bike lane system is of no use to anyone, unless there's a place to park your bike once you reach your destination. And the city has been quietly removing parking meters all over town and replacing them with the Muni-Meter system, effectively destroying the best places to lock bikes. In addition, we've been spotting new metal sign posts that are too thick to attach U-locks to. Cities that are truly bike-progressive (like Montreal and San Francisco) know that lockable parking spots must be provided if you wish to encourage bike traffic. And the mayor is ignoring this obvious fact.