Cool or Not Cool: Bike Barrel Lane Created to Slow Bikers the F*ck Down?

Recently two pedestrians have been hit by bikers flying down that ginormous hill on the West Drive in Prospect Park. The latest incident involved a 55 year-old park volunteer who was struck by a biker as she stepped off the bridal path and on the main road. She was rushed to Kings County Hospital where she was put into a medically induced coma because of the nature of her injuries. 

After a similar accident in June, a task force of city agencies and park users was assembled to address the issue of safety on the West Drive. Park Administrator Emily Lloyd has maintained that they are addressing the needs of all the park users, bikers and pedestrians alike: “We’re looking at a broad array," she says. "I don’t think there’s a silver bullet on this one." 

The response from this task force has been heated and varied (as you can imagine). According to Gothamist, a woman who leads a Park Slope parent group had this solution to offer: "We have an off-leash time in the park, why don’t we have a speed cyclist time?" Here we go again confusing dogs with humans. 

Others are saying it's time to get bikes out of the park completely. Windsor Terrace native Florence Weintraub recently told The New York Times, “I waited years to get cars out of the park and the bikes are much worse.”

Last week, the DOT placed a temporary lane carved out of orange barrels that effectively guides all bikers into the middle of West Drive, which forces them to slow down. Pedestrians seem to think it's starting to help, but bikers say that it actually makes it harder to avoid pedestrians because of the limited space. According to blogger Brooklyn Spoke:

Cyclists now have less room to maneuver if something goes wrong; if a pedestrian steps in front of a group of cyclists without looking, the cyclists would likely all crash into that person instead of spreading out like a flock of birds evading prey. Even if they did avoid a collision with a pedestrian, one cyclist clipping a barrel could send an entire peloton down.

As someone who runs, walks and bikes the West Drive (and who is obviously an advocate for bikers), I do think bikers need to slow the eff down when they reach the hill. I'm not sure this barrel lane is the solution, but it can't get pretty nasty out there, so something is needed. I get that gaining high speed helps you maintain the momentum you need to you tackle that bitch of a hill on the other side of the park, but still, there is a playground full of little kids right there. Plus, I'm not a fan of being yelled at by someone who is proving how fast they can whiz down a hill.  

So FIPS'ters, what do you think? Bike barrel lane: cool or not cool?