Friday, May 15, 2009

Roosevelt Island Bike Rack Removals To Be Enforced At Tram and Subway Station For Now - Rest Of The Island To Be Determined Later

Roosevelt Island Subway Station Bike Rack Thursday 5/14 5:30 PM


RIOC has decided that the Roosevelt Island Bike Racks are not to be used overnight during the hours of 2 - 5 AM and issued the following advisory.

Bike Rack Advisory
For All Bike Racks On Roosevelt Island
There Will Be No Bicycle Storage Between the Hours of 2:00AM and 5:00AM.
Bicycles Found In Violation Will Be Removed By The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.
I inquired of RIOC President Steve Shane:
I have been hearing alot of complaints about the new bike rack policy of removing bicycles found chained to Roosevelt Island bike racks betweeen 2-5 AM.
I understand there is an issue with abandoned bikes chained to the racks but why change such a longstanding practice going back many years, particularly the bike racks on River Road by Manhattan Park.

Does the policy include River Road bike racks as well?
Mr. Shane replied:
The managing agents at all housing groups have no problem. The bikes stored outside are rusty and unsightly. Since we did not want to be discriminatory, intended to make it Island wide. However, we will post signs and advisories by the Tram and Subway and will enforce there only, until further notice.
So, let RIOC and your building management know if you object to this new policy or have any ideas on how to keep the overnight bike storage but remove the unsightly and abandoned bikes.

Roosevelt Island 360 has more.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Is it so hard to just remove the bikes that seem to be abandoned? I think not. Also, my bike is a clunker and not a pretty sight but I used it daily. Because the way my bike looks like it needs to be removed? What if I was driving a clunker of a *car*? Would I be allowed to park it on the streets?

Anonymous said...

Typical for RIOC First, there has been no vote, quorum, consensus. A few complaints, someone makes a decision, and the safety force spreads the news in an ungrammatical laminated note dangling from a plastic twistee. Have you given it any thought?? How about the people commuting into the island who leave the bike overnight at the subway? Didn’t think of that, did you? Do you really want to spend safety patrol time taking possession of bikes? Also, declaring a rule on Saturday for Monday is the most crazy implementation of any rule in an municipality. Nobody has time to move or sell their bike.

Here are 4 smart ways to handle it:

Move the bike racks
Put in more bike racks
Clear the racks twice a month to identify abandoned bikes
Ticket bikes that violate the clearing rule and then remove them at the next clearing.

The RIOC solution to the problem of unsightly (abandoned) bikes is absurd. Less bikes means more cars. These bikes are a solution to another problem – pollution, crowding, fuel usage. Amsterdam has accommodated thousands of bicyclists for hundreds of years without a moronic governmental response. All your rules are making people less environmentally conscious, less likely to buy things at your stores on the island, less likely to visit overnight , less likely to move here, and more likely to use their cars.