Cars and E-Bikes: A Recipe for Disaster

 

By Frank Filocomo

"Walking," writes Robert Orr in Public Square, "immerses you in your surroundings in ways driving never can."

At 28 years old, I've never owned a car. While I do have a driver's license, I've never desired a vehicle of my own, opting instead for public transit and my own two legs. 

For a fare of $2.90, I can go just about anywhere I need to - in New York City, that is. 

Cars, despite being money-guzzlers, are dangerous and unsightly. SUVs are especially offensive. 

As I've written before, our cities are designed in a way that is pedestrian-unfriendly. Cars rule the roost.

Orr continues:

Long walks reveal not just charm, but also the harsh truths of how our streets are designed: for cars, not people. I remember some close calls; fortunately, they have been limited to being knocked down by a few cyclists so far. The rise of e-bikes, scooters, and skateboards indicates that encounters may become more serious. Even on sidewalks, pedestrians rank lowest.

The e-bikes, as Orr writes, present a new problem. These cyclists - if you can even call them that - often ignore traffic laws, plowing through four-way stops and riding the wrong way down one-way streets.  

Man on delivery e-bike.

I get that having our DoorDash meals delivered to us in a timely manner it like really important, but man, these guys are pedestrian accidents waiting to happen. 

In an article for Carscoops, Stephen Rivers writes that there is a "small subset of consumers who buy up or create e-bikes that aren’t legal on city streets and then ride them there anyway. In New York City, that growing gray area has already turned deadly."

Let's see if the city actually bothers to do something about this...

Again, our communities must be livable. It shouldn't be too much to ask that pedestrians not have to fear for their lives when walking to the grocery store.