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by thenmar 4218 days ago
It's not really a policy change though is it? Aren't they enforcing laws that cyclists previously were breaking with impunity? I would like them to show their work too, but I don't really see the policy conspiracy angle to this.
6 comments
hoopism 4218 days ago
It's not like police are an inexhaustible resource.

Resources allocated in one realm means a dip in another. Using bad stats to justify a reallocation should be alarming to local residents.

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thenmar 4218 days ago
Are they actually allocating resources for this? I read it as the police would no longer be giving people a free pass where they used to
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iquantny 4218 days ago
Policy is not the same as law. A police department can have a policy on how to distribute resources....
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seanp2k2 4218 days ago
Not sure about NY laws, but other states allow "Idaho stops" (treating stop signs as yields on bikes): http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/more-idaho-stop-and-why-cycl...

If you've ever commuted via bike, you probably understand how little sense it makes to stop at every sign and roll no lights.

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wanderingstan 4217 days ago
Most auto drivers, myself included, regularly (and with impunity) break the law against driving over the speed limit. If police announced they intend to start ticketing people for even 1-9mpg speeding violations, we would all agree this was a massive "policy change."

(Note that I'm not saying that these law breaking activities are equivalent; only that there are a multitude of laws that are not enforced, and a change in enforcement is indeed a policy change.)

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mikegillman 4218 days ago
So why bother to fabricate reasoning behind their actions?
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dead10ck 4218 days ago
Exactly. No policies are changing. They're just putting more resources into enforcing existing laws.
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lil_cain 4218 days ago
That is a policy change. Policy and law are not the same thing.
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thrownaway2424 4218 days ago
They're rearranging the same resources from enforcing something else to enforcing traffic laws against bicyclists.
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seanp2k2 4218 days ago
Because obviously, this is NYC's biggest problem. I can see the headlines now: "Cyclist Moving Violation Crime Wave Hits as Snowfall Begins, but NYPD Strikes Back"
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