Northeast - Any ticketing in Prospect Park?

The crackdown in Central Park is well documented, but I'm wondering if anyone has been nabbed in PP. I did some laps yesterday and I saw no fewer than 4 police vehicles stationed just off the road - that's enough to make me a little wary...

as far as i know, there has not been a lot of ticketing there.

the popular theory on this is that Prospect does not have its own precinct - and so the precincts that only partially cover PP have better things to do (e.g. try to stop ****, murder, robbery, etc)

Well, let's hope that they don't get their **** together!

In my observations is everyone is happily running red lights in the park; park rangers, police cars, police on bikes and of course everyone else.

The whole original reason for closing the park was to allow cycling without interference from cars. The ticketing is trying to undo this. Maybe there needs to be a lawsuit, just like against the bike lane on PPW.

Not that it's conclusive, but I decided to "brazenly" run a red light that a cop car was waiting at... s/he didn't care.

I've seen the cruisers hanging around more often than not. When I do see them, I've been extra cautious, slowing down, making a big show of looking both ways, etc, demonstrate that I'm a courteous rider. :rolleyes: Don't want to chance a $260 ticket!

The nice thing about the park is that you can see most of the lights in the distance and can pace yourself to hit them when they turn green. If I stop for crossing peds (when they have a green), I just wait until they're clear and move on.

I'm kind of waiting to see what's going to happen when there's more daylight and the weather is nicer.

DST update: Not too many riders yet because it's still cold out but no sign of cops during weekday evening hours (7-9PM). Rarely see cruisers parked anymore, but I still try to slow down a bit around the lights. Good to see other guys out there taking it easy too. Hopefully this is a sign that PP won't be affected in the season.

I'm hoping they go easy on the downhill section at the southwest section. You can easily coast down that thing at 30mph sitting upright.

I had just come on the forums to find out about this. I've heard a few stories of red light tickets, and possibly speed traps in PP. Good to know that hasn't been the experience here.

I've been out there very frequently the last few weeks, and I haven't seen or heard of any ticketing. Even on Saturday, when there were a lot of walkers and runners, I saw bikes rolling through red lights in front of cops. To be fair, most of the cyclists have been pretty reasonable with peds, in or out of the crosswalks, which is nice to see - I haven't seen any fly-bys or heard any yelling, but I have seen cyclists slowing down and giving wide berth.

I've been out there very frequently the last few weeks, and I haven't seen or heard of any ticketing. Even on Saturday, when there were a lot of walkers and runners, I saw bikes rolling through red lights in front of cops. To be fair, most of the cyclists have been pretty reasonable with peds, in or out of the crosswalks, which is nice to see - I haven't seen any fly-bys or heard any yelling, but I have seen cyclists slowing down and giving wide berth.

I usually ride there in the winter when the roads are crappy, and this has been my experience as well. Honestly, though, your chances of getting a ticket are highest when it is not busy because you're the only one around to be given one. Ask me how I know (though in my case it was CP).

Easter Sunday update: Mid-Late afternoon ride. Lot's of runners, skaters, pedestrians, etc. There was at least one NYPD van and they didn't seem to care about cyclists blowing through reds. I actually wished they did on certain occasions because some of these riders were doing so without regarding the safety of pedestrians and other park users.

I've personally been very diligent about giving peds the right of way. Usually they're pleasant enough wave me through, which is nice. I recognize them, they recognize me, everyone is safe and goes along their day.

I rode Central Park yesterday (finally the weather was great), Most bicyclists stopped or at least slowed down except the rider's in their spandex outfits. Do they think less of people who walk? Or Red lights are for others but not them? Come'on guys. STOP. You make it look bad for all bicyclists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rode Central Park yesterday (finally the weather was great), Most bicyclists stopped or at least slowed down except the rider's in their spandex outfits. Do they think less of people who walk? Or Red lights are for others but not them? Come'on guys. STOP. You make it look bad for all bicyclists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, many cyclists think thought the lights were just an relic from the days when Central Park's drives were exclusively for cars, and presumed they didn't apply to bicycles, particularly during car-free hours. After all, runners didn't stop for lights and pedestrians just crossed the drives whenever they pleased. Most cyclists, skaters and runners would go counter clockwise around the park but there was always the occasional group of 100+ runners or the family with small children going clockwise, totally oblivious to the flow.

Until this winter it had been years since the Central Park Precinct had bothered to enforce traffic laws against bicycles or anyone else on a regular basis. Maybe once or twice a year they'd set up on the East Drive around 90th Street, but that was pretty much it, and more times than not they'd let red-light running cyclists off with a warning. Why Capt. Wishnia has suddenly decided to enforce traffic laws against cyclists at hours like 6 am in the middle of winter is anyone's guess.

I, for one, never knew we had to follow traffic laws. I thought we were in same boat as pedestrians when it came to red lights, etc. But here's the question...how are you getting a ticket if your bike doesn't have a plate?
Cop: Hey, c'mere u just ran a red light, I'm giving you a ticket
Me: *pedals faster, possibly making a turn up the wrong way on a one-way street*
Cop: damnit
(Not that I would ever be so brazen as to attempt such things...or would I?....or have I????)

Stacy, When I was riding yesterday, hundreds of people were in the park. Easter Sunday stroller's, jogger's, bicyclists. If everyone took a " Hooray for me, the hell with you " additude, there would be mayhem......Everyone claiming their right of way.....or the strongest have the right of way...........I mean.............5 or 6 of us bicyclists are stopped for the red light, allowing the other park user's to cross safely, along comes a 'Racer" who does slow down, but does not come to a complete stop, no...he or she is not stopping and it makes all bicyclists look bad..........The ironic part to yesterday's ride was that the tourists who rent the bicycles obey the rules, I saw them stopping at the red lights.............I don't want to stop at all red lights but I do..................Just want to be part of the solution, not the problem.........Please be considerate of other's........

Anyone who believes the " Hooray for me, the hell with you " attitude is limited to cyclists hasn't come across a hundred or so wrong-way joggers during one of their evening social runs or pedestrians who venture out into the roadway without looking either way. Then there are the groups of tourists who see you coming down a hill who meander across the roadway, one by one, like ducklings following their mother. I don't think anyone's arguing that everyone needs to show some consideration, particularly in the south end of the park during high use times, but if you've ridden the northern end of the park, particularly in the early morning or after dark, your opinion is likely to change.

Stacy, When I was riding yesterday, hundreds of people were in the park. Easter Sunday stroller's, jogger's, bicyclists. If everyone took a " Hooray for me, the hell with you " additude, there would be mayhem......Everyone claiming their right of way.....or the strongest have the right of way...........I mean.............5 or 6 of us bicyclists are stopped for the red light, allowing the other park user's to cross safely, along comes a 'Racer" who does slow down, but does not come to a complete stop, no...he or she is not stopping and it makes all bicyclists look bad..........The ironic part to yesterday's ride was that the tourists who rent the bicycles obey the rules, I saw them stopping at the red lights.............I don't want to stop at all red lights but I do..................Just want to be part of the solution, not the problem.........Please be considerate of other's........
Quite frankly, you sound like someone just looking for something to ***** about, if you think that this "racer," who, according to your account, deliberately slowed upon approaching the crosswalk and/or peds, is guilty of possessing an "hooray for me, the hell with you," attitude.

Question for julesray: I see you're from Staten Is. Are you allowed to bike across the Verazzano or do you drive in?

ok why the hell not, I'll go in on this..

I get what everyone is saying there's truth to it and yes it's law but at the same "right of way", who's to enforce the i hate parking in nyc it's such a hassle oh look there's a spot quick hurry, yes finally got a spot swings door open without looking in mirror as I'm strolling down on my bike I encounter this lovely interior door with the front of my carbon bike. No one enforces that, ok maybe it's my responsibility to watch out for those types, wouldn't it be the same responsibility as say cutting across the loop not at a stop light at any given point? How about spending the money educating users about cyclists and THEIR right away if we're been cracked down it should be a wide spread campaign in making the park safe, not isolating specific users.

Maybe post signs along the loop and major cross sections? Instead of officers posted up to see if cyclist run reds, how about that officer stand at the red and tell the crowds NO ITS NOT OK TO WALK, YES ITS OK TO WALK? I mean I'd like to think it should go both ways no?

ok why the hell not, I'll go in on this..

I get what everyone is saying there's truth to it and yes it's law but at the same "right of way", who's to enforce the i hate parking in nyc it's such a hassle oh look there's a spot quick hurry, yes finally got a spot swings door open without looking in mirror as I'm strolling down on my bike I encounter this lovely interior door with the front of my carbon bike. No one enforces that, ok maybe it's my responsibility to watch out for those types, wouldn't it be the same responsibility as say cutting across the loop not at a stop light at any given point? How about spending the money educating users about cyclists and THEIR right away if we're been cracked down it should be a wide spread campaign in making the park safe, not isolating specific users.

Maybe post signs along the loop and major cross sections? Instead of officers posted up to see if cyclist run reds, how about that officer stand at the red and tell the crowds NO ITS NOT OK TO WALK, YES ITS OK TO WALK? I mean I'd like to think it should go both ways no?
That actually IS against the law, and I know of one instance where it was enforced... unfortunately, it was only enforced because it directly resulted in the death of a cyclist (knocked her in to a bus in the traffic lane. Oh, and the guilty party fled the scene to go to a baby shower. Effing scum.).

I, for one, never knew we had to follow traffic laws. I thought we were in same boat as pedestrians when it came to red lights, etc. But here's the question...how are you getting a ticket if your bike doesn't have a plate?
Cop: Hey, c'mere u just ran a red light, I'm giving you a ticket
Me: *pedals faster, possibly making a turn up the wrong way on a one-way street*
Cop: damnit
(Not that I would ever be so brazen as to attempt such things...or would I?....or have I????)

These cops aren't messing around. They'll ask for ID and if you don't produce it, they can detain you until they confirm your identity. Pull that stunt on a Friday evening and you could spend the entire weekend in the system. Tickets can run as high as $330, which someone pointed out, is more than some people earn in a week.

I'm not looking to get anyone upset. Maybe I'm focused too much on riders who DO NOT STOP AT RED LIGHTS. I'll continue riding and yeah, stop at red lights..........I ride the ferry to go to Manhattan.........Can't ride the Verazzanno, except this Sunday...

I'm not looking to get anyone upset. Maybe I'm focused too much on riders who DO NOT STOP AT RED LIGHTS. I'll continue riding and yeah, stop at red lights..........I ride the ferry to go to Manhattan.........Can't ride the Verazzanno, except this Sunday...
You should focus more on riders who RIDE RECKLESSLY THROUGH RED LIGHTS.

Am I the first one to say this?
Don't you think, for cyclists, that red lights and stop signs should be considered "yield" signs.
Doesn't that make more sense?
After all, that's how most pedestrians treat red lights.

Am I the first one to say this?
Don't you think, for cyclists, that red lights and stop signs should be considered "yield" signs.
Doesn't that make more sense?
After all, that's how most pedestrians treat red lights.
The first? No. Does it make sense? Yes. In fact, in Idaho, it is law that cyclists may treat a red light as a stop sign (not exactly a yield, but it's a huge step in the right direction).

I think everyone is missing one point here. For 40+ years, Central Park has been closed to cars at some point during the week and there has never been any enforcement of any traffic light laws, EXCEPT when it was open to cars in the am. Suddenly the cops have changed the rules, written or unwritten, about what is acceptable. Who gave them the right to change the rules? It has always been acceptable to ride the park without stopping. This is not about blowing through lights, weaving through the cars, knocking pedestrians down. It is about riding through the park at a reasonable pace (in some parts of the park riding fast is reasonable, others not so) without needing to stop at lights. The DOT could just as easily turn them to flashing yellow and the problem goes away. it is a PARK, not a highway. I almost always stop at the red lights on the streets, when I don't I soft pedal through because the street is deserted. If there is any traffic at all I stop. Do the pedestrians in CP go to the lights and wait to cross??? Don't be silly, maybe a tourist from Seattle would, but no New Yorker gives it a thought. They are all over the road, crossing wherever they are and it makes the lights completely meaningless.

They've done some pretty idiotic things about cycling in this city, this is just another of them, and it is because the cops have a bug up their a$$ about cyclists. Do you remember the head level stop signs at EVERY intersection on the west side greenway? They may as well have strung a rope across the path. How about the non-existent 15mph speed limit? That one has been floating around for about 20 years, but there never was any such thing, it was made up by Betsy Gotbaum.

It isn't the cops per se. Do you think that one day every cop decided to enforce bicycling laws?
The pressure on the police comes from the community.
They feel that bike lanes were forced down their throats and it goes down the line until it hits us at the bottom of the totem pole.
It's been a pissing contest since the installation of bike lanes without any community input.
You see it every day. The battles between Transportation Alternatives or Commisioner Sadik and the non-biking community.
It's tit for tat and we, the cyclists, pay in the end.
I was riding in Prospect Park on Tuesday. Lap after lap with other cyclists and the police bothered no one.
But at one red light, the police car decide to stop, and so every paranoid one of us did the same.
Waiting at a red light where not a soul was crossing.
Kind of takes the fun out of cycling.

It isn't the cops per se. Do you think that one day every cop decided to enforce bicycling laws?


Actually, yes. I'm sure the word went around internally, although like ticket quotas, it doesn't exist.

It isn't the cops per se. Do you think that one day every cop decided to enforce bicycling laws?

Interesting part is, not every cop is enforcing bicycling laws -- certainly not the ones in my neighborhood except the corner of Lafayette and Prince Street after the NY Post did another anti-bike exposé. Much of the current enforcement seems to be centered around Central Park, the Upper East and Upper West sides, and a few neighborhoods in Brooklyn. We seem to have just as many salmon downtown as we did before the crackdown.

Interesting part is, not every cop is enforcing bicycling laws -- certainly not the ones in my neighborhood except the corner of Lafayette and Prince Street after the NY Post did another anti-bike exposé. Much of the current enforcement seems to be centered around Central Park, the Upper East and Upper West sides, and a few neighborhoods in Brooklyn. We seem to have just as many salmon downtown as we did before the crackdown.
Yeah, a guy on a neighborhood board was recently issued a summons for slow rollin' through a red in Park Slope. Unmarked car and all - gotta sneak up on these menaces.