From planetary scientist Dr. Kat Volk comes this oldie but goodie Guardian article about a cyclist that was ticketed for-wait for it-not travelling in the bike lane. Casey Neistat was so incensed, he created a video that has not only gone viral, it has been called a “great piece of gonzo filmmaking”.
“The backstory here is that the New York Police Department announced late last year that they were going to get tough on cyclists’ infractions of the law. And they meant it. First, there was the controversy of the ticket blitz in Central Park, where cops were on duty before dawn to nab bikers training on the park’s closed loop road. Eventually, after a strong pushback from park users and residents and the bike community, the cops backed off that policy and an uneasy truce reigns. But elsewhere, the new approach continues: according to the New York Post, the NYPD has handed out nearly 14,000 tickets so far this year, up nearly 50% on the same period last year.”
Meanwhile, Casey’s video has had over twenty million hits. And it still resonates today, as cyclists continue to have obstacles show up in bike lanes that really should not be there in the first place. Take a look.
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Reblogged this on Sandy James Planner.