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Cyclists Are More Important Than Cars, Bloomberg Declares
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 26, 2012
Modified Oct 26, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 26, 2012
Modified Oct 26, 2012
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Today Mayor Bloomberg made an appearance at a major gathering of transportation agencies from across the nation and, with NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan at his side, said out loud what the tabloids have always suspected he feels on the inside: People in cars are third class citizens. Originally, "the streets were there to transport people," Bloomberg said. "They are not for cars... One of the original ways was walking." And he didn't stop there.
"Cyclists and pedestrians and bus riders are as important, if not, I would argue more important, than automobile riders," Bloomberg declared, calling for more investment in mass transit and more of the "complete streets" designs that his DOT has been shoving down the NY Post's throat for years now. Sources say columnists Steve Cuozzo and Andrea Peyser will be spending their weekend together in the Post's Cyclist Situation Room drawing up matching editorials eviscerating Bloomberg's bike bias. But in the meantime, the Post's commenters are happy to fill the void. Here are our favorite responses:
- Paul Vincent Zecchino: The mayor and his fellow socialists are big fans of Edward Bellamy and his idiotic commie book, "Looking Backward". They want to deny citizens their cars because that makes it easier to control them and separate them from their money to pay to ride these deth trains which will be frequented by every criminal opportunist imaginable.
- Kris Sergentakis: Another example of the wealthy spitting on the middle class. They should hide this mayor till he leaves office.
- Joseph McCabe: once again Little Lord Fauntelroy... I mean Nanny Bloomberg is showing just how clueless he is.....is he kidding about the streets were opriginally made for walkers not cars.. yes and the sky is for birds not planes...
- Jeffery Topps: Bloomberg is a socialist, nanny-stater first, a businessman second. He is one of the real 1%ers, looking down on his "little people" and trying to run their lives. By the way, roads were built for horses, first, then cars, not people. Sidewalks are for people. Does Doomberg ride in a limo? Just asking?
To answer Topps' question, Bloomberg does not ride in a limo. Sometimes he takes the subway, and sometimes he takes an SUV to the subway, and sometimes his SUV is pre-airconditioned in advance with a window A.C. unit, because Bloomberg's drivers got busted breaking his own anti-idling laws. There, we've probably dumbed this down enough for today. Here's how the streets looked back in Bloomberg's day:
Tagged
bike lanes
bloomberg
cyclists
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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