NYPD revises anti-bicycle parade rules, new vote to come

As noted previously, the NYPD withdrew their proposed parade permit rules from City Council consideration on Friday (Aug. 19). The next parade permit proposal, due out in September or October, removes any mention about pedestrians gathering on sidewalks (a slap in the face of the right to free assembly, and spurred by demonstrations outside Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention two years ago).

Still targeting the Critical Mass rallies, however, the new proposal is expected to demand that any group of 20 or more bicyclists, pedestrians, vehicles, etc in the street would need a parade permit and approved route. Cyclists are injured every day in New York City, and several killed each year in traffic, and the BEST HOPE for safety is riding in larger groups, which motorists can't help but notice and yield to.

Mayor Bloomberg, who in the past has tried to mitigate traffic but has never thrown much support behind non-motorized forms of transport, has been distinctly silent on the issue, not wanting to offend the PBA and Policeman's Union with elections coming up in a few months. New York needs to provide safe passage for the estimated hundreds of thousands of cyclists that take to the streets every day. Support for cycling is critical to improving the quality of life (and health) for ALL city-zens!