Nearly 50 cyclists, victims of e-vehicle collisions, and safety advocates rallied on 5th Avenue Thursday to demand that the city no longer permit e-bike and e-scooter riding in city parks.
The concerned group gathered near the Central Park Conservancy headquarters to protest the city’s ongoing pilot program, which allows micromobility devices in the park. According to the safety advocates on scene, city officials have already begun making roadside signage changes to accommodate the devices, such as disabling walk signs and covering audible Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) with burlap.
Ralliers held signs that read messages such as “Parks are for recreation, not transportation” and “Ban e-bikes from Central Park.” They want the City Council to pass Intro. 606, which would prohibit the use of e-scooters and e-bikes in city parks. Twenty council members support the bill, including Vickie Paladino, Robert Holden, Erik Bottcher, Mercedes Narcisse and Kristy Marmorato.
“Central Park has become an e-vehicle expressway at the peril of pedestrians and everyone who uses the park,” said Janet Schroeder, co-founder of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance (EVSA). “E-vehicles do not belong in Central Park or any NYC park.”
Schroeder also slammed the Central Park Conservancy for not taking a more aggressive stance against e-bikes in Central Park.
“We’re here today because the Central Park Conservancy has not stood up at all against the dangers of e-bikes in the park,” she said.
City agencies see ‘promising trends’
The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) announced in July plans to continue a 2023 pilot program that allows the same bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters that are legal to operate in NYC streets to also operate on park drives, such as the Central Park and Prospect Park loops, and greenways, such as the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.
A spokesperson for NYC Parks confirmed that the pilot is still active.
“We are committed to ensuring our public spaces can safely accommodate the diverse ways that New Yorkers engage with them, including electric devices like e-bikes and standup e-scooters,” an agency spokesperson said. “Parks and greenways are critical parts of the city’s cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and often the most comfortable and scenic routes.”
NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) officials said the agency’s redesign of the park drives emphasizes safety and implements recommendations from a Central Park Conservancy study, which they claim will provide more space for pedestrians while better separating those who walk and bike.
“This is a large, transformative project, with work at crosswalks still underway, and even during this transitional period, we have not seen any uptick in reported pedestrian injuries,” a DOT spokesperson said. “We look forward to assessing the project after its completion and can make adjustments as needed, though preliminarily, we have observed promising trends.”
Betsy Smith, president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy, said in a statement that the redesign “remains a work in progress, and the conservancy remains in close collaboration” with DOT, which she said has the ultimate authority over what happens on the drives.
“Everyone should feel safe walking, jogging, or riding in the park,” Smith said. “We share profound concerns related to high speeds on the drives—especially by e-scooters, e-bikes and non-electric racing bikes. We know the key to drive compliance with the park’s speed limit is effective enforcement, and that is why we continue to closely collaborate with NYPD, Parks, and the city’s Department of Transportation.”
Safety advocates showcase e-bike safety violations
Meanwhile, EVSA released footage on Oct. 8 that depicts swarms of e-bikes and other micromobility devices seemingly ignoring safety and traffic signs along the usually tranquil paths of the park. One part of the video shows a group of riders disregarding a crosswalk, forcing a family to clear out of their way.
“Our parks are the only place left to escape motors,” Schroeder said. “Many people, especially older New Yorkers and people with disabilities, can no longer visit Central Park for fear of being hit by a heavy motorized vehicle. The redesign has made Central Park even more chaotic and dangerous.”
Park-goers said they are left feeling increasingly uneasy having to navigate the park alongside e-vehicles.
“Where I live, by Columbus Circle, it’s very chaotic, it’s crowded,” said John Corey, an Upper West Side resident. “You have so many different things going on. E-bikes, regular bikes, crowds of people, rickshaws. It’s a park, and you have to like run across the street so you don’t get hit by anything.”
Lorna Wiener, said Central Park has become “unsafe” because of reckless riding.
“You take your life in your hands getting into the park,” she said.
Despite the community concerns, DOT said the redesign of Central Park has the support of local elected officials, including Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and US Rep. Jerry Nadler.
