(cross posted from mybikelane.com - http://tr.im/oIeT )

so the driver never got a ticket? i would definitely question the traffic agent if one comes around.

If I had seen a traffic agent, I probably wouldn't have bothered them about it. Wouldn't want them to get in trouble for issuing a citation to someone who's above the law.

It's not like if you bother a TEA they are going to agree with you and ticket the vehicle. They are not idiots. Some of them have gotten jammed up for writing placards. A few years ago I think one got suspended for writing an NYPD pool plaque at a fire hydrant. It turned out the vehicle belonged to a DI. They have too much to lose and too many illegally parked cars WITHOUT placards to go and write a NYS police officer or any other one for that matter.

WillNYC - such a sad commentary on the state of integrity and professionalism of our city's police department.

There is one thing I refuse to do and that is summons any vehicle that is parked in a bicycle lane. These lanes are useless and hinder traffic. A car parked in this manner is a welcomed sign. If a civilian parks in a bike lane I usually give them a break. If a cop does it I just walk on by. Why start a war with the very agency that protects us. I have seen some dim witted co workers get bounced to Brooklyn for summonsing placarded cars. Writing police officer's cars is frowned upon in the TEA.

Fuss-

Are you kidding me? Bike lanes carry traffic - bicycle traffic. Jerks like this who are too lazy to find safe parking should have their placards taken away.

Are you some sort of un-realist. Bike lanes have proven only one thing and that is that they impede the flow of traffic by bottle-necking the existing vehicular traffic to the point of gridlock. Frankly I prefer that they open these lanes up to traffic in order for the vehicular traffic to move more smoothly. I personally welcome the site of motorists double parked in these bike lanes as opposed to double parking on a regular street. This is one of the few times I turn a blind eye to civilian double parking. Eventually these lanes will go the way of Mayor Koch's ill fated bicycle lanes and not a moment to soon.

Show us one lane that you can prove has consistently caused gridlock. Just one. And before you guess, it's not the Grand Street Lane. The street has always been somewhat congested, and now cyclists have a safe route of travel on it separated from cars and trucks.

Nobody cares if you turn a blind eye. But go ahead and pat yourself on the back anyway.

Besides, there are dozens of traffic agents who will not hesitate to ticket vehicles in bike lanes and they have been doing it more and more over the past year or so.

OMG, there are so many to mention....where do I begin? Let me just start with the bicycle lane near Herald Square. Now that one is truly one offending bicycle lane which consistently adds to the gridlock of the city of New York. Grand Street is another good one but not as bad as the latter one and don't get me started on the new bike lanes that have been introduced to side streets. Talk about ridiculous and a total waste of space.
Ok, who are we going to believe, the cyclist who claims to know the inner workings/dealings of the TEA/DOT or me who actually works for the agency. I hate to burst your bubble, Cyclosity but we at the TEA/DOT concentrate on infractions consisting of meter/box blocking violations. Bicycle lane intrusion is not high on any one traffic agent's agenda. If you think I am lying ask your friends at the TA for a break down of TEA/DOT summonses issued in NYC. You will be extremely shocked to notice how many bike lane summonses actually are issued.

Stats to back it up? Didn't think so. Plenty of cyclists use all the lanes you mentioned in their commutes.

Who is "we"?

I don't claim to know the inner workings of any agency, simply what I observe on the street downtown : Traffic agents who have consistently been ticketing vehicles for blocking bike lanes on Grand, Lafayette, etc.

I'm glad you find your job so exciting.

Cyclosity, where do you get your off the cuff facts from? I work for the city under the capacity of summons issuer/traffic manipulator(I.e traffic agent)and I know what I speak of...DO YOU? Trust me when I say that 6th avenue by HEROLD SQUARE is one of thee worst in the city in terms of traffic thanks to the existence of these ridiculous bicycle lanes and being such I know not of any traffic agents issuing summonses in that area for blocked bicycle lanes. The conditions created at Grand street & Lafayette by the bike lanes are nothing compared to those created at Herald Square.
When you speak of traffic agents issuing summons for blocked bike lanes please elaborate. Where do you get your figures from? It behooves you to back up your statements with real facts instead of using your gut feeling. Traffic agents in general do not waste their time with blocked bike lanes when in fact they consume most of their time summonsing expired meters and blocked intersections. We have a system wide quota when it comes to issuing summonses and we tend to go after the easiest summonses in order to meet that quota. If you took the time to do your homework you would realize that 3/4's of the summonses written on a daily basis consist of expired meters. As an agent I want to make my quota for the day so I can relax and the easiest way to do that is to summons an unoccupied car. Frankly, writing a car for blocking a bicycle lane is just not worth the time. Usually the car is occupied and upon approach the motorist leaves anyway. Now that I have explained why your statements were erroneous it would be nice to here your facts for stating:

"Traffic agents who have consistently been ticketing vehicles for blocking bike lanes on Grand, Lafayette, etc."

HEROLD Square? What?

I clearly stated this was based on my personal observations.

Also, you just called yourself a traffic manipulator. Think about that for a second.

Bicycle lanes are a waste of space. The bicyclist don't even stay in their lane. The lane could be empty and they still ride in the middle or the other side. They also don't follow the traffic flow or the traffic laws.

Asif Rahman, 22 years old, killed by truck as he navigated around an illegally parked car, Feb, 2008. An unclogged bicycle lane ... heck even an unclogged street may have prevented his death.

Those ideologues with agendas who are willing to set aside the law for their own personal convenience frequently cause irreversible damage to others. And they do not care -- by golly it is their confiscated "right" to be lawless and to hell with all who disagree with them.

This is too often the mentality of the immature, thugs who don badges for the sake of power and privilege - likely a minority of all the employees of the City/State/Fed but still a hefty number.

I'd suggest that they grow up and think things through to their conclusion. I, for one, do not care whether a dangerous, thoughtless act is committed by one who works for a government entity or not - it is the act itself that is illegal and/or dangerous. I doubt that those with larcenous, self-agrandizing tendencies will either listen with an open mind, be aware of the potential for harm or even care about the potential for harm.

TS Eliot wrote: Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.

His truth has never been truer.

Hiyall you act like you don't break the law. You break the law every day. You jaywalk to take pictures. If you drive which I doubt you break the law. I'm sure you always do the speed limit. You can't tell me you have never parked your car illegally. They park their cars legally with their legal placards regardless of what you and others say on this web site. Get used to it they will not ticket their own.

dragonman :

Don't be stupid. I use bike lanes everyday and I always stick to them, so do PLENTY of other commuters. Nice work there pal.

When I drive, I always stay the speed limit. I jaywalk just like everyone else.

My lawlessness or lawfulness is not the topic. There is real evidence of lawlessness here - straw men, ad hominem, false choices - just logical fallacies that those who have no real defense must rely on so that they can banter.

Regardless of what is said here one thing is clear, the placarded cars will not be summonsed. END OF STORY. Professional courtesy reigns supreme and I thank the lord every day for my placard and the privileges that accompany it.
Peter Parker's father once said:
"With great power comes great responsibility"
We are responsible for taking care of our own.

"With great traffic manipulation comes great arrogance"

Call it what you will, cyclosity. One thing that will remain constant is that you will always be a spectator looking in. You are not part of this thing of ours and it just burns you. The inner circle of professional courtesy is a tight circle and it has no room for crying cyclist who demand to be treated as equals with law enforcement agents.

I really don't want to be in the circle of annoying underpaid traffic cops, thank you very much.

Or would you prefer "traffic manipulator".

Fuss :

An off-duty rookie cop who grabbed the parking ticket computer of a traffic agent (the agent was going to cite the cop for obstructing a bus lane) was issued a desk appearance ticket and suspended.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06242009/news/regionalnews/bronx/cop_busted_in_ticket_flap_175799.htm

If the rookie cop would have known that she wouldn't have had to pay for the ticket. It would have gotten squashed. Like all the other tickets they receive.

The story reported in the paper is a sad one. Everyone loses on oh so many levels. The rookie cop gets suspended but shall emerge unscathed. The DOT agent will win the battle but will be bounced to Brooklyn. This is one of the main reasons I do not scan occupied cars. There is almost always a confrontation. My fellow DOT agent was wrong for not showing the officer discretion and professional courtesy. All he had to do was hit the delete button on the scanner and things would have been hunky dorie. The officer was wrong for even touching the agent's equipment. All he had to do was go to the agent's base and speak to the NYPD's liaison Lt. The summons would have been taken care of on the spot. Perhaps egos on both ends got frazzled and now they both have to pay the price. For the record , this is an isolated incident. Usually DOT/TEA and police officers get along and most of the time we go out of our ways to correct a mistake.

So hiyall is using Asif Rahman's name for his agenda again.... Why did you bring his name up hiyall? If I remember correctly, he died while riding his bike ILLEGALLY down Queens Blvd. There are no bike lanes there cause it's too dangerous. Even his family admitted he knew the risk and took it just to shave a few minutes off the commute. Now if all cyclists want motorists to share the road, share the laws as well! I cannot count the many times I see so-called "law-abiding" cyclists going on sidewalks, speeding past RED stop lights, nearly crashing into people and have the nerve to curse them out, going down the wrong way of a one way street, the list goes on... Oh let's not forget the many street fairs and closed streets for PEDESTRIAN use. Cars are banned: no problem. Bikes: they zip on through like it was their right to rush past kids and their families!!! One personal example, they had a kids' day at the south street seaport not too long ago and they closed off a part of south street for it. Kids and their families walked about having a good time, enjoying the warm day, not a care in the world BUT for cyclists riding past them with looks of annoyance cause we were incosiderate enough to get in their way!!! One such cyclist almost ran my 3yo over! Any "sorrys"?... No... just kept on going. I was behind my 3yo and if I took any action, I would probably be still be locked up for assault with EXTREME prejudice. I worte something like this yesterday and I haven't seen it posted yet. I do hope this is an oversight by the moderators and not some sort of censorship because I wuold hate it if TA just posts comments regarding the positive side of cycling... Just in case, I've saved a copy for reprint if you guys need it.