[*BCM*] Merely thinking out loud...

[lungfish]

That's all well and good in theory....actually not really since it's
pretty unsafe, but even if they did do that in NYC, I've had friends
ride NYC CM and get arrested for sitting down in union square and
possessing bikes.  Just like they basically kicked homeless folks out of
NYC, they're slowly but surely cracking down on all cyclists, too.

On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 14:18:59 -0400, "Thomas John Vitolo"
<tjvitolo at bu.edu> said:
> So, if the NYPD is busting CM in NYC for "parading without a permit",
> what would
> happen if all of the following occurred:
> 
> A huge number of cyclists 
>  * rode independantly or in pairs around Midtown
>  * obeyed all traffic laws, especially lights
>  * rode neither really slow nor particularly fast
> 
> Instead of a single blob forming traffic behind them, the decentralized
> "gnats"
> would slow traffic throughout midtown.  Since they were individuals or
> pairs,
> they aren't parading.  Since they're all buzzing around "randomly", the
> police
> wouldn't be able to track or intercept them.  Since the riders would be
> obeying
> the law, the police wouldn't have a leg to stand on if they began random
> arrests, whereas now it is clearly contentious.
> 
> Keep in mind that cyclists are allowed to pass other cyclists -- and
> could
> therefore skillfully block multiple lanes of traffic.
> 
> 
> Now, I understand that this isn't the same thing as CM.  It isn't as safe
> for
> cyclists, nor does it have the visual impact.  However, a decentralized
> ride
> would still result with a visual impact of many many cyclists in Midtown,
> and
> would have many of the "this is our road too!" impacts merely by numbers.
>  It
> would also give both motorists and cyclists a visual image of what many
> cyclists
> imagine the roads should be like all of the time.
> 
> I would love to do something like this in Boston, but the roadways
> wouldn't be
> quite as conducive.  I'd do it anyway though, of course...
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
>  - stomv
> 
> Support a few technologists in Washington.  Go to:
> http://actblue.com/list/stomv
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