By Gene Weinstock
Since 2011, bicyclists have injured more than 2,250 pedestrians — including at least seven who died, according to statistics from the city Department of Transportation
In 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio adopted Vision Zero, a strategy that seeks to “eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.”
However, since adopting the strategy, de Blasio has reportedly ignored the threat to pedestrians and has only criticized electric-bike riders who use the bicycles primarily for food-delivery, blasting them for “going the wrong way on streets and riding on sidewalks”, Breitbart reported.
The most recent pedestrian death in the city occurred on July 31 when Manhattan real estate broker Michael Collopy was struck by a cyclist while walking to work. His head hit the pavement and reports said he died five days later at Bellevue Hospital due to his injuries, Breitbart reported.
Reports said that family members “provided a statement saying the city needs to aggressively address the dangerous interactions between pedestrians, bicycles, and cars… All three groups are seen breaking traffic laws every day,” according to CBS New York.
However, to the City’s credit: New York Police Department (NYPD) have increased their efforts to enforce laws pertaining to cyclists.
“Cops issued 19,949 moving violations to cyclists this year through June 30, up from 18,148 over the same period last year, a 10 percent increase,” reports the NY Post researched.
Injuries are up 12 percent this year, rising to 127 through June 30 from 113 over the same period in 2018, the NYPD says.
Most of the injured last year were in Manhattan, where 134 pedestrians got hurt, nearly half the citywide total of 270. Flatiron/Gramercy Park’s 13th Precinct topped the list with 16 injuries, followed by Chinatown/Little Italy with 13 and Lower Manhattan with 12. There were 10 on the Upper West Side, The NY Post reported.
Despite the recent tragedies, many New Yorkers are still choosing to use bicycles as a mode of transportation, according to NPR.
“More people are choosing to cycle for a variety of reasons — concerns about their impact on the environment, frustration with public transit and desire to improve their physical health. The city has also been instrumental in encouraging people to bike, including the massive rollout of CitiBike bike shares”, according to NPR.
The progressive left has pushed the environmental concerns of driving for decades. Apparently thru social engineering, many in NYC are giving up driving. Many researchers identify that major cities are implanting several United Nations agendas, including the driving issue.
“One must wonder if de Blasio is turning the blind eye to reckless bike riders because he is pushing heavily the UN agenda which progressives like the mayor strongly believe in, the ends justifies the means in the mind of a radical , what’s the big deal if some bicycle riders maim and kill pedestrians”, Jewish Voice political analyst Jared Evan recently commented.
“Over the past few years, the city has on average built 62 miles of bike lanes each year — the largest increase anywhere in the country. But, in a city with more than 6,000 miles of streets, fewer than 1 in 5 has a bike lane,” the NYC Dept of Transportation report concluded.
