Cyclist Cited For Not Using Bike Lane On Street Where None Exist

NEW YORK — A cyclist was ticketed for riding down Fifth Avenue outside of a bike lane — even though that stretch of the street doesn't have a cycle path.

The cop cited Alex Goldmark for breaking a non-existent rule in a case that advocates say betrays officers' lack of understanding of the traffic laws they enforce.

Goldmark was biking down Fifth Avenue near East 42nd Street Monday when a cop gave him a ticket for "biking off lane" — even though the Midtown thoroughfare doesn't have a bike lane.

The officer further told Goldmark that there is "no biking anywhere in the city unless there's a bike lane," he said in a tweet. "I'm pretty sure this is false."

Cycling advocates said the ticket is bogus, as there's no law against riding bikes on a street without dedicated lanes for them — a position the city affirmed.

"It’s absolutely outrageous," said Marco Conner, a co-deputy director at the safe-streets group Transportation Alternatives. "There’s no law against that whatsoever. It should be dismissed outright on its face."

Cyclists generally have the same rights and responsibilities on the road as drivers, experts said. While there are exceptions such as expressways and highways like the FDR Drive, bicycles are not barred from roads without bike lanes, said Lolita Avila, a spokesperson for the city's Department of Transportation.

"The cop is wrong," Jon Orcutt, a spokesperson for the cycling nonprofit Bike New York, said in an email. "You can ride bikes on 5th Avenue and any city street you want."

Goldmark's ticket cited him for breaking section 4-12 (P) (1) of the city's traffic rules, which requires cyclists to use bike lanes whenever they are provided unless they are making a turn or navigating around an obstruction.

But that rule does not mean cyclists cannot ride on roads where no bike lane exists, according to Steve Vaccaro, a lawyer with the law firm Vaccaro & White who represents cyclists and pedestrians. The ticket would likely be dismissed if Goldmark were to fight it, Vaccaro said.

"What if you live on a street that has no bike lane? That means you have to dismount and walk from the nearest bike lane to get home?" Vaccaro said. "Is that what they think the law is?"

Goldmark did not respond to Patch's requests to discuss his experience further. But he said on Twitter that he got caught in a "bike trap" set by two or three cops who also ticketed a Vespa rider — but ignored a collision between two taxis.

Goldmark said he may have been targeted because he had headphones in both ears, a violation of city rules. He also got a ticket for that, he said.

An NYPD spokesperson acknowledged the cop’s mistake and said the bike lane summons will be voided, but added that Goldmark was properly ticketed for using headphones.

“The Commanding Officer is aware that the bike lane summons was issued in error, that summons will be voided and the officer will be instructed on proper summons-able traffic offenses,” Det. Sophia Mason, the NYPD spokesperson, said in an email.

Police officials have touted a crackdown on dangerous driving in the wake of this year's spike in cycling deaths. Nineteen bikers have been killed in traffic crashes so far this year, up from 10 in all of 2018.

The NYPD's Citywide Bicycle Safe Passage Initiative aims to ticket motorists who speed, run red lights and block the bike lanes that cyclists are supposed to use. The department has also said it would work to educate bicyclists in the wake of a fatal crash instead of taking enforcement action against them.

But Goldmark's ticket points to a lack of training on traffic laws and how they apply to cyclists within the NYPD's ranks, biking advocates said.

His story suggested the officers were directed to write a certain type of ticket at a specific location based on instructions from supervisors who are "equally or more ignorant than the cop," according to Vaccaro.

"A lot of times these abusive practices reflect systemic problems, problems in the supervisory and management structure of the NYPD, not just rogue cops," Vaccaro said.