Food Delivery Bicyclists

As enmity toward bicycle messengers has eased in recent years, many New York pedestrians have discovered a new bicycle bête noire — food delivery cyclists. Although data aren't available, the number of such cyclists appears to be at an all-time high, as prepared foods grow ever more popular. Speed is paramount in food delivery, since customers look for their meals to arrive quickly and oven-hot. Not surprisingly, then, many delivery cyclists surpass even commercial bike messengers in flouting the law; wrong-way cycling and riding on sidewalks are particularly common, especially in neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, where car gridlock is endemic. Many riders elect to use the sidewalks for short-haul deliveries rather than risk riding against traffic on busy avenues.

In this climate, City Council Member Charles Millard has had little trouble obtaining co-sponsors for his bill authorizing police to confiscate commercial bicycles ridden on sidewalks. (Other bills in Millard's package would intensify enforcement against cars parked in bike lanes and red light-running cabbies.) Although cycling traffic on sidewalks is onerous, one notes that, as in other crackdowns on cyclists, simple education hasn't been tried first.

At the start of 1993, Transportation Alternatives and the City DoT were preparing to distribute multi-lingual leaflets targeting Chinese delivery cyclists, who by acculturation often ride against traffic. Signs identifying restaurant ownership of delivery bikes might also bring community pressure to bear against dangerous riding. Over the long haul, cracking down on dangerous motorists and discouraging driving in general would make the streets safer for everyone while making it easier for cyclists to stick to the roads.

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