DavidVibert said:

Looks like they’ve put the barriers up on both ends of the Great Wall climb. People are going around them but you can’t just breeze up or down.

what I wrote TO THE MAYOR

Mayor, I'm writing today about the propossed 15mph speed limit for Central Park. This is apparently going to be put into effect shortly. It's a terrible idea. There are lots of reasons it's bad, but the biggest is that its criminalizing safe behavior by people doing the right thing--exercising in a safe space. 

*There is no evidence it will result in greater safety for anyone. 

*NYCDOT Safety Study doesn't recommend it. 

*Stakeholders weren't consulted. 

what I wrote TO THE CONSERVANCY

I'm writing to oppose the proposed 15mph speed limit for bicycles.  

It's a terrible idea.

*There is no evidence that it will make the park safer.

*NYCDOT's own study, just completed, doesn't recommend it.

*Stakeholders weren't consulted.

*The park drives are one of the few facilities in the city where people can ride safely, and there are over 800000 cyclists in the city, yet this will constrain that population.

 I also want to take this moment to point out that the Park already is designed for safety.  There are archways all over the park that were designed to reduce user conflicts, yet the Park is doing nothing to revitalize these architectural gems, nothing to convince people to use them rather than climbing up over the roadway.  It would be in keeping with the original Park design and advancing the needs of users to reduce drive crossings where the archways are already in place.  

David Yang said:

With the deep freeze and more snow forecasted for this coming weekend again, Superbowl Ride might be pretty dicy on some of the back roads of Bergen/Rockland...

mugwump said:

David Yang said:

With the deep freeze and more snow forecasted for this coming weekend again, Superbowl Ride might be pretty dicy on some of the back roads of Bergen/Rockland...

Hoping the bridge is open by the weekend and I can perhaps take a look.  

Subject: ⚠️ Forward This Email to Five Cyclists or We Lose Central Park (Yes, Really) ⚠️

Date: February 8, 2026 at 10:16:09 AM EST

To: "J.P. Partland" <mugwump@panix.com>

Dear Fellow Cyclist,

This is not a drill.
This is not spam.
This is one of those “chain” emails you’re supposed to forward—or else something terrible happens.

True(!) Story: Outgoing Mayor Adams dropped the cycling speed limit in CP from 20 mph to 15 mph just before leaving office. The rule takes effect mid-February—unless Mayor Mamdani rescinds it. 

Safety in Central Park matters to everyone. But this policy misses the mark. Rather than improving safety, it undermines a century-old cycling tradition, misapplies state law, and sets a dangerous precedent for recreational cycling citywide.  For full story, see op-ed in Streetsblog: https://tinyurl.com/ttnxu6mm

So here’s the deal:

➡️ Fill out this petition: https://tinyurl.com/4m8nby54

It will go to Mayor Mamdani and public officials in a position to affect CP policy.

➡️ Forward this email to five cyclists you know.

Then the ancient rules of chain mail apply: 

Ignore this message, be condemned to an eternity of soft-pedaling behind pelotons of rental bikes.  Forward it, and save Central Park as a place where cyclists can train safely.

Pedal fast. Forward faster. 😉

---------------------

PS> To further assuage the chain mail deities, bring a printout of this flyer with QR code to your local bike shop and ask them to post it by the checkout counter.

https://tinyurl.com/ttnxu6mm

cp15-flyer2

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