File photo
June 17, 2015 By Michael Florio
Complaints about speeding and bicyclists riding on the sidewalk were the hot-button issues at last night’s 115th Police Precinct meeting.
Several residents addressed Precinct Captain Nick Ventre at the meeting, alerting him to streets where motorists speed and where wayward cyclists ride on the sidewalk.
One resident, a 19-year-old, told Ventre about dangerous driving on 92nd Street, particularly by 35th Ave.
“92nd Street is a speedway,” she said, adding that when she has to move her car that’s parked on the street she is fearful that she will be struck by a vehicle.
She said that speeding seems to be at its worst on Fridays.
Ventre said that he would alert his officers to patrol the area and hand out speeding tickets to violators.
The captain said that the precinct takes these complaints seriously and when a resident notifies them of a problem they do take action.
He said that there were some recent complaints about speeding on 93rd Street near Elmhurst Avenue. The captain said 47 summonses have been written in the past four weeks in that area.
“We do this to try and control the traffic conditions,” he said.
However, some residents complained about cyclists.
One woman said it is difficult for her to walk on the sidewalks since cyclists use them. The resident, who said she lives a few blocks from the precinct (92-15 Northern Blvd), said cyclists are on the sidewalks no matter the time of day.
She said it is especially bad on Sunday mornings, particularly on 98th Street near 31st and 32nd Avenues.
“It makes it difficult for people to even stand and wait for the bus with these bike riders flying by,” she said.
Ventre said that he would have a patrol car monitor the area, especially on Sunday mornings.
He added that children 14 years and under are the only riders permitted to bike on the sidewalk.
“Anyone older has to follow the traffic rules of the road,” he said.
Ventre said that the precinct does work to make sure that cyclists follow the same traffic laws as vehicles, and it does issue summonses to violators. However, he acknowledged that it has been an ongoing issue.
He said that the precinct monitors these complaints and reviews accident reports involving bicycles.
“We take all this into account to find out where we need to start cracking down on this and hitting them harder,” he said.
“We enforce this for the safety of the bicyclists,” he added.
