New York, NY – You may soon need a sticker to ride.
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In a bid to rein in rogue cyclists, all adult pedal pushers in the city will be required to get an ID tag affixed to their bikes if a city councilman has his way, The Post has learned.
Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) says he is floating the proposal — which would require a small fee — because “there seems to be a double standard when it comes to enforcing the traffic laws. Bicycles are involved in accidents, unfortunately, across this city.”
He added that many cyclists don’t have identification on them if they get into an accident because “they’re in Spandex or whatnot.”
Ulrich says that many of his constituents are seniors and that “people on bicycles scare the hell out of them. Sometimes they can be an intimidating presence on the city streets.”
Cycling in New York is booming. The Department of Transportation is adding 50 miles of bike lanes per year, and DOT numbers show a more-than-100 percent increase in everyday bike commuters — from 8,499 in 2006 to 17,451 now.
But city cyclists don’t exactly agree with Ulrich’s reasons for proposing the measure.
“Wearing cycling clothing does not prevent you from carrying identification. Almost all cycling jerseys have multiple pockets,” said Andrew Crooks, 34, owner of bicycle shop NYC Velo, near Union Square.
Implementing the registrations would be a waste, he said, adding, “It’s not a good use of resources to re-create a system that already exists.”
Cycling advocacy groups said they’d lobby against the idea.
“We’re adamantly opposed to any legislation that would require licensing or registration of bicycles,” said Kim Martineau, a spokeswoman for Transportation Alternatives. “. . .[T]he deterrent effect it would have on cycling would be enormous.”
Instead, the group calls for “better, more targeted enforcement” of existing laws.
One biker saw an upside, saying lost or stolen bikes could be identified. “Right now, [recovered] bicycles just get auctioned” by police, said audio engineer Chvad Bernhard, 37.
Unlike the backtracking New Jersey Assemblywoman who withdrew her proposal for mandatory bicycle licenses, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) is serious about his bill, and he says there’s support for it in the City Council. Reached by phone, Ulrich elaborated on his proposal, which he cautions hasn’t been officially drafted or introduced yet. “This is so premature,” Ulrich tells us. “I have no specifics about what it will look like. But I imagine that when it is finalized I’ll gain a number of co-sponsors. Many of my colleagues feel similarly and will be supportive.” But it’s not that premature—Ulrich hopes to introduce the legislation on February 2nd.
We asked Ulrich how such a law might affect tourists visiting NYC with their bikes, and he said, “I can’t legislate for people that are outside of my jurisdiction. I’m sure it will be addressed in the final copy of the bill. It would be tough to tell people outside the city what to do.” Ulrich also stressed that the proposal would only apply to adults:
I’m not looking to harass kiddies on tricycles. And I’m not trying to say that if you’re in the park you need a permit. But if you’re 18 and use city streets, you should be accountable, just like if you own a car you need to get registered and get a license and insurance. I’m not going that far; we just need to get a handle on a situation that is out of control. I think it will improve safety for everybody if bicyclists get a registration sticker that they pay $3 for or whatever is for five or ten years. This is not a revenue generator. We have a law on the books in the city that says that the cost of the application can not exceed to cost of printing and processing it.
I have never, never seen a cop car pull over a bicyclist for running through a red light. I wish they would, because those are the ones who are creating problems every day in the city. If these people are not obeying traffic laws, they should be held accountable
We also asked Ulrich if his proposal contradicts the traditionally Republican goal of smaller government and less bureaucracy. “Absolutely not,” says Ulrich. “This is the reality of the situation we’re in, given the large number of people on bikes. And frankly, it’s amazing this hasn’t been passed already. The people on bicycles brought this on themselves by behaving this way. Nobody has the right to get in their car and drive however they want.
I don’t think this is big government trying to figure out who owns a mountain bike, that’s silly. We’re not trying to make money off the deal. I’m not against cycling. I think it’s environmentally friendly. But they share the roads with drivers and pedestrians and they have a responsibility to follow the same laws.”
Any and all cycles using public city streets should be ID’d somehow. And the delivery bikes? They should pay a commercial fee and be restricted to certain areas.
I’m 100% behind any program that can curb the out of control law breaking cyclists.
Where can we show support for this bill?
and cyclists should have to carry liability insurance too!!
They drive at the same speeds of cars. They also swerve in and out between cars. Most of them are a dangerous lot.Riding a two wheeler bike at speeds exceeding 25 miles an hour up to 40 miles an hour should definately require all licensing in the same way a car does. The stupid self serving comment from the bicycle lobby that people will stop riding bikes was applied when they started registering cars. They threatened that people won’t drive.
They should have insurance and be required to have XX hours of driving and safety courses. No weaving between lanes, no squeezing through between parked cars and driving cars.
Wonderful idea
Where does it stop? If you take this further, the next step is requiring joggers to register their sneakers. I’m sure there are a large number of complaints of people getting bumped into, run into etc.
what is a rogue cyclist? it’s new nomenclature.i’ve heard of rogue elephants.somhow i can’t picture a bicycle rider as an elephant hard as i try.these politicians trying to stay in the news with nonsense is disgusting.
What’s next, a bike lane toll booth?
Maybe license, insurance, seat belts
they should be required to have insurance as well just like a car.