Last week we warned cyclists to look out for cops cracking down on even minor bike infractions to gin up enforcement stats. It appears to be even worse than The Observer initially fathomed, as Streetsblog has a nightmarish tale from the former bike haven, now bike hell, that is Central Park.
It all begins with a cyclist getting ticketed for turning into the park against a red light–mind you the street no longer carries cars, so this would be like pulling into a driveway–and things only get more bizarre from there:
Unfortunately, this was not the end of my encounter with NYPD. After riding about a mile in Central Park a police SUV parked at an on-ramp on the UWS started to follow me. It was obvious I was being stalked. Worried they were searching for any infraction I stopped riding and got off my bike. The police car turned on its lights and parked about 50 yards behind me waiting for me to resume riding. It was freezing cold so I had to get back on and try to make it home. The car continued to follow me.
As I continued down the road I saw a police minivan with about three police and six cyclists arguing (one of the cyclists was disabled and was using a hand bike). Seemed like they had stopped in the middle of the road for some reason.
Sounds like a scene straight out of a David Lynch movie.
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