Simply in case you thought New York Metropolis didn’t take its bike infrastructure severely, try this child:
It’s a small e-assisted car for doing bike lane upkeep, which is smart, however what doesn’t make sense is that for some purpose it requires the operator to put on a helme(n)t:
Whereas completely not one of the different numerous tiny autos already in use by numerous metropolis companies do:
[From here.]
So is the explanation for this that the individuals working this factor shall be uniquely susceptible to cone assaults? Probably:
[Bike lane maintenance crew member locked in hand-to-hand combat with a traffic cone.]
Extra seemingly although it’s as a result of this factor simply occurs to have pedals, and as effectively all know something that has pedals requires a foam security hat for some purpose:
“However wait,” you might be questioning. “Don’t all of them have pedals?” Effectively, sure, all the opposite ones have brake pedals and accelerator pedals:
It’s completely advantageous to drive these kinds of autos with out sporting a helmet, clearly. Nonetheless, if as a substitute of merely stepping on the pedals you additionally flip them spherical and spherical along with your toes then you might want to put on one. It’s easy physics, silly!
And once more, that helmet particularly must be a bicycle helmet, not an automotive helmet or a motorbike helmet which may conceivably supply precise safety within the occasion of a collision:
I don’t know that this proves something, I similar to the video.
“So why even trouble equipping this factor with pedals in any respect?,” you might be questioning. “For the reason that metropolis has been utilizing shitloads of tiny autos for ages, why not simply use these? Can’t we simply ship all of them out in golf carts and Cushmans?”
Effectively, no, duh! See, this factor goes to be spending numerous time blocking the bike lane:
Personally I’ve no downside with the DOT blocking the bike lane with the intention to attend to it. Nonetheless, advocates do, and also you’re not allowed to dam the bike lane in any respect for any purpose–even to offer you recent Citi Bikes:
That foolish peasant servicing the biggest bike share fleet in america actually ought to know higher.
Given this, clearly equipping this factor with pedals is the DOT’s try and deflect these complaints, since it should permit them to answer, “Hey, it’s a bicycle, it belongs within the bike lane.” Nonetheless, as I do know from private expertise, you’re not even allowed to encroach on the bike lane in case you’re on an precise honest-to-Lob two-wheeled human-powered bicycle and serving to another person who’s additionally on a bicycle:
This worry of stopping in any respect for any purpose should clarify why I’m the one bicyclist in New York Metropolis who ever yields to pedestrians.
So actually, the one street upkeep car that might presumably fulfill the smugerati can be some kind of development drone that hovers over the bike lane with the intention to repair it:
Although even then it might run afoul of the livable streets motion, since banning helicopters is the brand new banning automobiles:
This then brings us again to the issue of what they need to title this factor:
Looks as if “Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t” can be becoming.
