Community Corner

Blocked Bike Lane Causes Cyclist Wipe Out

Katarina Riesing now has a sprained wrist and a scratched face.

Every weekday, Katarina Riesing rides her bike down 9th Street from Park Slope to her nanny job in Carroll Gardens. And nearly every time, there's an ambulance parked in the bike lane.

Most days she weaves into traffic to avoid it. But on a recent afternoon she decided instead to bike up onto the curb at the curb cut in the middle of 9th Street between Court and Smith streets, dismount and walk the half-block to her job. But she hit the curb, and went flying.

"I tried to brace myself with my right arm, and slid on my face," she said.

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If the ambulance weren't there, she would have been able to continue on to Court Street without any trouble. Instead, her right wrist is sprained and in a cast, and she can't ride her bike anymore. The incident is another in a long line of bike-lane sagas.

"It's always there," she said about the ambulance, adding that when cars are parked in the bike lane, it's dangerous for cyclists.

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"It's really frustrating as a biker. You have to weave in and out of the bike lane," she said. "It's scary and you don't feel protected."

According to Officer Vincent Marrone, Community Affairs Officer at the 76 Precinct, no automobile can be parked in the bike lane, not even an ambulance.

"If there's no emergency, there's no reason to be there," he said. "We hope people use common sense and don't park in the bike lane if they don't need to."

Vehicles that are parked in bike lanes are considered to be "obstructing a bike lane," and will be issued a summons, he added.

Riseing, who says she always wears a helmet, doesn't have health insurance, and didn't go to the ER until the next morning.

"I cleaned myself up and picked up the kids," she said.

She now has twice as long a commute as she did before. Instead of biking from her house in Ditmas Park, she takes the G train from Church Ave., a 19-block walk from her apartment, and gets off at Carroll Street. She would be able to save a few minutes if the Smith and 9th Street subway station were open.

Despite her wrist, she's making due, and still working.

"I've found creative ways to pick up the child," she said.


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