Residents say they have noticed new “Wrong Way” signs going up along protected bike lanes on the Amsterdam Avenue recently. While new to that stretch of bike lanes, a Department of Transportation source insisted such signs have been around since the days when the city first began building protected bike lanes back in 2016.
It is not clear if the new signs on Amsterdam Avenue are a result of the new quality-of-life initiative unveiled by Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and recently expanded.
After a 60-day pilot program that included the 13th Precinct on the East Side, the quality-of-life initiative was expanded to include all precincts in Manhattan and will eventually be expanded to all boroughs.
The plan is to go after complaints that come into 311 lines and non-emergency 911 calls regarding everything from dangerous bike riders to homeless encampments.
The NYPD hailed the pilot quality-of-life program as a success that responded to more than 7,500 calls to 911 and 311 involving such issues as parking violations, noise complaints, smoke shop inspections, and clearing homeless encampments as well as bike complaints.
Separately, the NYPD has been facing blowback from bike advocates over its push in April to start issuing criminal summonses to bikers for things like running red lights or driving bikes on sidewalks.
But Streetsblog was reporting that many of the summonses, at least early on, were being tossed by judges because the forms were filled out improperly by cops.
On top of that, the DOT separately announced it was going to assign dozens of “Peace Officers” as part of its Department of Sustainable Delivery to target the businesses behind illegal mopeds and e-bike violators. The 48 officers would be unarmed but would have ticket-writing authority; the group will not be fully operational until 2028.
Separately, Mayor Adams is pushing an initiative that will allow e-bikes and stand-up scooters in Central Park on a permanent basis after monitoring a trial program. that allowed them earlier this year. Mopeds and the heavier e-vehicles would remain banned. That move has angered some activists, including the NYC Electric Vehicle Safety Alliance, which is urging the City Council instead to pass a law banning all e-bikes from the park.
Meanwhile, UWS City Council Member Gale Brewer said she is against a Council bill forcing all e-bikes to register with the city; she supports legislation at the state level requiring e-bike registration so that e-bikes involved in accidents can be traced.
The NYPD hailed the pilot quality-of-life program as a success that responded to more than 7,500 calls to 911 and 311 involving parking, noise, and homeless encampments in addition to bike complaints.