New traffic pattern in Prospect Park

I did something today that I don't think I've ever done before. While riding in Prospect Park earlier, I stopped for a red light, unclipped and waited for the light to change before continuing my ride. What's more, I was one of several cyclists who stopped at that particular light.

What's the big deal? Prospect Park is in the midst of it's latest round of pedestrian vs. cyclists squabbling, and the police appear to be more concerned than usual with enforcing traffic regulations. In fact, the reason I stopped for the red light was mostly the cruiser sitting in the intersection, lights on and apparently ready to apprehend anyone who rolled through the light.

Of course, I only had to stop for one light in two and a half hours of riding, which is pretty solid for an urban ride. Despite the recent upheaval, things were mostly as they always are in the park: Some people were riding slowly on expensive bikes; other were riding fast on inexpensive bikes; triathletes were there and trying to ride. There were kids riding, and parents riding, and people walking and running. Of course, it was a warm, sunny day in the park, and everyone had the same idea, to get out and enjoy the weather.

There was one interesting new feature; at the bottom of the hill, the site of the aforementioned accident. Cyclists can easily reach speeds of 30mph, and occasionally faster on the descent, so the parks department is using orange traffic barrels to narrow the roadway to one lane from three. At first, I thought it was just a means to slow traffic (which it does), but later it occurred to me (remember, I was riding in circles for two-and-half hours, so I had a lot of time to think about these things) that the narrowed travel lane means pedestrians have a much shorter distance to get across the street, reducing their exposure to cross traffic.

I'd heard some grumblings about the barrels earlier in the week, but I have to say that I support their use. It's a simple way to force everyone to pay more attention, and there's no reason to be ripping through that turn at full speed in the middle of the day, when the road is open to all users. Besides, on most of my laps, I barely had to slow down anyway. And, it's much better than a permanent alteration to the roadway.

I have to say, though, these discussions have been going on for years, and, I'm pretty sure that this latest round will pass before too long.