Bikelash is Back: Citi Bike Expansion Upsets Upper West Side Residents

Frank Rosario reports on the bikelash underway on the Upper West Side ahead of the proposed additon of Citi Bike to 39 new docks in the neighborhood. According to Rosario, "Upper West Side residents packed a community board meeting to fight the pending flood of Citi Bike stations — saying many sites pose a deadly risk to pedestrians, especially children."

Rosario cites four residents who express concern over the expansion of the bike share system in the neighborhood. Tiom Valenzuela, for instance, says, "There will be way too much combat between Citi Bike riders and pedestrians."

Debrw Bottle is concerned about conflicting traffic with existing bus traffic arounf the American Museum of Natural History. "The idea of bikes trying to enter into the traffic pattern in addition to everything else going on there is, frankly, just inconceivable," she says.

"Our street is a very narrow one. There are mothers with strollers, and there are young children walking around,” said Joanne Aidala.

The article is written in typical sensationalist and tabloid style, even including a map of "unsafe" new Citi Bike stations—though who deemed the sites unsafe and by what metrics are not mentioned. There's also no mention of the threat of motor vehicle traffic to the pedestrians in the neighborhood.