On Demand
Park Politics
Monday, June 23, 2008
New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman discusses how Central Park is becoming a battleground for different groups.
We want to hear from you. How do you use Central park? Comment Below!
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Where is everyone today? Are you all sleeping? Let's post!
I use the park to run. I am training for the marathon. It is a zoo between the cyclists, cars, runers (in both directions), tourists, horse and buggies. Crazy out there
"Who owns Central Park?" I don't know, but I know who doesn't but act as if they do: film crews! Grrrrr.
I don't know if this is the place to write this, but it has been on my mind for awhile.
I noticed that each time Andrea Bernstein is introduced the title "WNYC Political Director" precedes her name. This bothers me. Brian we need to give you a title. May I suggest "Peabody Award Winner" or "The Voice of Reason" Brian Lehrer, Perhaps a WNYC contest "Give Brian a title" Prize? a bike ride to Varick Street with Brian.
Those are my thoughts but I didn't know where to post them. Thanks and Congradulations.
Roller Skiing! Go Gabe!
How do you bike to work without getting all sweaty and needing a shower?
Just curious: Is this a problem in Prospect Park as well?
Considering the fairly recent history of Central Park being a literal war zone, this is a great problem to have, park over usage. Can we all just get along and lobby for more recreation development as NYC grows?
McCarren Park was filled this Sunday with many people utilizing the public space for many diverse uses. It was crowded, but amicable, perhaps because there are not many cyclists there. It's obvious that what was once perceived as ample park/recreation space in all the Boroughs is approaching if not passed capacity.
With so much common interest in enjoying outdoor space, groups and organizations should work together to increase the recreation pie for all!
the new advent of so many pedicabs is a huge problem.
I walk across the park several times a week from 81st Street to the Met Museum. Bikers, runners, roller bladers ignore lights, don't seem to think anyone else has any right to cross. Bikers are particularly obnoxious and dangerous.
I know cyclists who have been given tickets for running red lights on the streets--quite expensive ones, too!
A little off-subject, but in agreeing with Erica, but let me put it more broadly:
Film crews also think they own the streets. In fact, they think they own the city.
As a group the most self-important, self-indulgent, & obnoxious people you will ever meet in NYC.
I wrote a letter to the parks dept. about runners running the the bike lane. There are numerous places for people to run in the park, but only one bike lane. When runners run in the bike lane it forces bikers into traffic (on the east side of the park) and it's dangerous.
The parks dept. said they couldn't tell runners not to run in the bike lane because there's no law against it. It just doesn't seem fair.
Bikers are a plague upon this city. Central Park and indeed all of Manhattan is filled with maniacs on bicycles running red lights in order to turn the wrong way onto one-way streets. It will be a glorious day when New York is finally rid of these pests!
Maybe the hybrid bicyclists could take over the bridle path now that the Claremont Riding Academy is no longer around? Would that reduce crowding?
Best voice on NPR! Best Announcer! My day is not complete without the Brian Lehrer show!
How about The Voice of the People as his title?
"The Real News"?
"The Truth"?
cars shoul dnot be allowed in teh park
i've nearly been killed by cyclists when i was walking! It's NOT a bike training facility it's a park.
yes we needs tons and tons more playground
you can't rollerblade with cyclists and all the people walking - life -threatening to all!
lots of runners use the reservoir
The raccoons are becoming bigger and bigger stakeholders in the park.
The police do indeed give tickets to cyclists for running red lights in the city, particularly when they are cracking down following protests, unfriendly internet postings, etc. I have many friends who have been ticketed for running red lights, and for more insignificant offenses, and the cycling community see this as harassment.
rollerbladers are the worst! the take up an 8-foot swath of real estate!
There seems to be NO enforcement of the rules prohibting bike riders on the pedestrian foorpaths! On a busy weekend bike riders are all over the place weaving in an out of pedestrians.
Better signage - at eye level - and some summonses are badly needed.
Try Govenor's Island! Wide streets, only official cars, trees, birds, history and VIEWS!
aah! PEOPLE! it the CITY?!?!
what's next? cows in the country?
I agree with the last caller Julia. The park has become a place of business for the city. In my mind it was never meant for commerce, but from the horses to the pedicabs, to the concerts running events, (all of which I enjoy), it has become just that. I thought the park was given to the residents who pay taxes to find a space to enjoy activities people in the country get to do for free. It just seems like it's becoming a mall and not a playground.
i'm fine with people in the park.
in fact, i think it's nice to see people out and enjoying the out of doors. if i want to, i can move over if someone is coming my way...there is plenty of room.
i frequently go on the weekends. it never seems too crowded. it seems like a vital park in the middle of a very big city.
The commentary about the roads will be wrecked if the cars disappear is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The congestion is all about the cars.
No question.
WHy not have the runners use the bridle path? there are no horses there any more, partly due to so many...runners on the bridle path... and enforce enforce enforce the traffic rules. I have seen several collisions between bike and bike, and between bike and walker, all caused by excessive speed on wheels.
solution?
cars need to be removed from central park! it is obvious that there is not enough recreation space in nyc.
runners in the cycling lane put cyclists in danger when cyclists have to veer into the road. I have had a number of close calls with cars in the park. Also, many car drivers think that the park road is a freeway, and not a place for recreation. It's a park! a place to play!
hjs,
there are no cows or sheep in the country!
PS I read the article, which describes the bikers' embattled POV-- but it does not mention that they are riding steel contraptions, that propelled at great speed and momentum, have the ability to seriously injure, maim and kill defenseless adults, children and pets. Why do they feel so defensive when they are speeding around on these mobile weapons?
The whiners complaining about the bikes have an extensive network of fields and paths and grass etc. but I guess they want to wander all over the drives as well, the only place cyclists should be.
As a cyclist who uses the park for training, i know that if i want to ride at pace, it had better be at 6am when the tourists are not out. This also reduces the amount of pedal cabs, horse carrages, and no cars. cyclists take the car lanes and runners take the designated bike/runner lane. this usually works out rather well.
venture out for a ride past 10am on a weekend and you had better cut the speed back, watch for tourists riding the wrong way while taking pictures, or crossing at any point they like (w/o looking).
I ride my bike leisurely in the park in the mornings...it is a zoo. Sorta kiddingly, there shouldn't be just two lanes (for bikes and runners) but, perhaps, there should be 4 lanes in Central Park. The fast ones are killing us slower ones:
--One for Joggers
--One for Runners
--One for Bicyclists
--One for Cyclists
your guest is highly misinformed. transportation alternatives advocates on behalf of both cyclists and pedestrians. further, cyclists who use the park are very much in support of getting cars out of the park. they both pollute the nature there, as well as squeeze the cyclists against the runners.
PPS, Bring BACK the horses.
Radical suggestion: Rip out all the blacktop and only leave narrow dirt roads. That should render the park unsuitable for driving and bicycle racing, and the remaining pedestrians and bicycle commuters will share the space in a civilized way.
I had the experience of nearly being hit by a speeding cyclist in the park, when I had the walk light.
A screaming match then ensued... The cyclist felt that I was in the wrong, even though he was the one zooming through a red light.
I am a street cyclist, I rarely do park laps so I am not adverse to bicycles. But I do feel there is a certain arrogance to many lap cyclists. Perhaps its the tight lycra?
Yes, too many park vehicles and "official" vehicles with their flashers that should not be there. Dogs should not be offleash on the drives. Dogs should not be on the drives except to cross but their "owner" is on a cell phone.
I want to add to my last comment suggesting that runners use the bridle path. I am not a runner - there may be very good reasons for not using it that I am unaware of. Please forgive any ignorance in my comment.
As a walker, I do feel uneasy about high-speed biking in the park. Bikes are so fast and so quiet; if a biker is coming and you are not facing in his or her direction, you don't know it until the last second. If you step to one side or the other, there is a strong possibility of an accident.
I hope we can find solutions that will allow all of us to continue to use this jewel of a park with delight and without acrimony.
I am a "serious" walker- if there is such a thing.. I enjoy the 6 mile loop and/or the bridle path--
and was most struck by the final caller of today's program- the one who emphasized the importance of speed and his "cardio workout".
Central Park is, first and foremost, just that- a park! not a gym.. not reserved for speeders. so many times, I have been alarmed, unable to cross (despite being at a crosswalk/light) or enter the park.. etc, because of speeding bicyclists..
which is fine! bicyclists and racers and roller bladers and ... are ALL welcome-
but without mutual consideration-- it's inevitable that one or more 'kinds of park users' will feel frustrated.
a little enforcement &
a little more consideration for one another-
would help the situation hugely.
Aw, the poor caller can't use his cleats to destroy _the rest_ of Central Park. My particular sport is hole-digging and tree-chopping. I want to practice my sport! Wah!
Good grief, how brain-dead are we getting in this city?? On the West Side Highway paths, an incredible number of idiots run in the bike lane, bike in the run lane or just loll around, often with their kids and dogs, in both.
I don't know what can be done about these oblivious, selftish dingbats, who seem to infest the city.
I use the park for - gasp! - driving a car. A terrible crime, evidently.
The park drives are open four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon five days a week. They are utilized fairly extensively during this time. My experience is that most drivers are reasonably cautious, a few not. More or less the same as on other shared roadways.
To me, the big problem on the park drives is the high-speed cyclist. It seems that that use is what causes the most problem. I know it's out-of-fashion to say that anything connected with cycling is anything other than optimal, but the truth is that these riders are using the park in a manner for which it is simply not suited.
I think if there were a dedicated training area for high-speed cyclists (for which a modest fee might even be charged, or turn it over to a club to operate), such as the old bridle path, it would eliminate quite a bit of the problem for everyone else.
Cars and bikes share every road in NYC. But on the park drives there's an element of bicyclists that are simply not present on the streets -- bikers who are training.
would a reduced speed zone at the point of the worst congestion help keep a better ballance in the park?
the highest risk location is typically when the drive swings back north, narrows, adds pedal cab traffic, horse carrages, tourist density, runners, roller bladers, and cyclists into the same narrow stretch of road. from that location to the boat house is more of a struggle to keep from being hit or hitting someone.
Gabriel is wrong in stating that cyclists are the newcomers. Cyclists have been in the park since the 1880's. Century Road Club Assoc. dates from the 1890's. New York Road Runners started in the early 1970's. Roller blading started around 1990.
There were so many accidents involving roller blades that the doctors at Lenox Hill referred to it as the Roller Blade Express.
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