A survey of cyclists interesting Lafayette and Prince Streets in SoHo over five days between 8 AM and 5 PM last week by The New York Post indicated that 24 percent ran "red lights, narrowly avoiding collisions with pedestrians and cars."
The investigation found that 7,182 cyclists crossed the intersection and 15 percent of them rode the wrong way and bolted n and out of the lanes, pushing follow cyclists into traffic, or nearly sending them sprawling from their bikes.
The article by Helen Freund, Frank Rosario and Jeane MacIntosh in today's edition of the newspaper said that "81 adult riders rode the sidewalk instead of the bike lanes" and that "there was an average of four near-collisions per hour on each route, with errant cyclists narrowly missing each other, pedestrians or cars as they entered the intersection," the article maintained.
"Several red-light runners forced cabs and trucks to stop short. And pedestrians in crosswalks were nearly struck several times by red-light runners or wrong-way riders. 'They seem to think they have more rights than cars,' said a SoHo cop working the intersection," the article said.
"None of the scofflaws spotted by The Post was ticketed, although under law they are required to follow traffic rules and cannot ride on the sidewalk unless the rider is 12 or younger," the article said.
The investigation found that 7,182 cyclists crossed the intersection and 15 percent of them rode the wrong way and bolted n and out of the lanes, pushing follow cyclists into traffic, or nearly sending them sprawling from their bikes.
The article by Helen Freund, Frank Rosario and Jeane MacIntosh in today's edition of the newspaper said that "81 adult riders rode the sidewalk instead of the bike lanes" and that "there was an average of four near-collisions per hour on each route, with errant cyclists narrowly missing each other, pedestrians or cars as they entered the intersection," the article maintained.
"Several red-light runners forced cabs and trucks to stop short. And pedestrians in crosswalks were nearly struck several times by red-light runners or wrong-way riders. 'They seem to think they have more rights than cars,' said a SoHo cop working the intersection," the article said.
"None of the scofflaws spotted by The Post was ticketed, although under law they are required to follow traffic rules and cannot ride on the sidewalk unless the rider is 12 or younger," the article said.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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