Bikers know that many factors shape the efficiency of a good biking route. You have to pay attention to pedestrians, tourists, taxis, incline, traffic volume, safety, time of day, quality of the road, and more. One of the most annoying and disruptive may be the illegally parked car in the bike lane. Have no fear, master mappers WNYC has a new Fun Map: Bike Blockers What’s In Your Way? Snap a picture of these “bike blockers” and let the biking community know where these perpetrators are located by emailing a geolocated photo to bikes@wnyc.org.
We’ve embedded the map above (click on icons to see blockers) but you can also enjoy this map on the WNYC website.
Given New York’s diversity, it’s not surprising to discover that bike blockers come in all shapes and sizes – from UPS trucks to plastic bottle carts to thrown out furniture. Exploring the map, we found that most bike blockers are located downtown and in Brooklyn. Chrystie Street in Chinatown and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn seem to be particularly congested. On WNYC, they report that in some cases, there is simply no room for deliveries except the bike lane, like on Greenpoint Avenue. For drivers, you can park illegally in the bike lane or in traffic, but you’ll be more likely to get a ticket in the latter scenario.
If you’re a biker, be sure to use this map to report any bike blockers. You can even shame the violators with fun captions.
