A New York City cycling club argues in a new lawsuit that the city has implemented a 15 mph speed limit in Central Park through the \u201cperversion\u201d of a new law meant to reduce car crashes.<\/p>\n
Just before leaving office, former Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 administration reduced the speed limit on the Central Park Drives from 20 to 15 miles per hour. In a lawsuit filed last week, New York City Cycling Club writes that the new limit will force competitive cyclists who normally train in the park out onto the roads. Two seasoned competitive cyclists state in sworn declarations that the new speed limit unfairly prevents them training for races by eliminating \u201cone of the few safe areas in the entire city for high-intensity bicycle training.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTraining for cycling requires me to ride at speed for various intervals of time; there is no way to develop strength and fitness required to race competitively without that. This requires me to be extremely alert to my surroundings at all times, just as I would be in a race,\u201d Sarah Chubb Sauvayre, who has ridden in the park for 42 years, said in a legal filing.<\/p>\n
The cycling club\u2019s legal argument, which was first reported by Streetsblog<\/a>, centers on the administration\u2019s use of Sammy\u2019s Law to lower the speed limit. The law<\/a>, named after a young boy who died after being hit by a car on Prospect Park West in 2013, gives New York City the power to reduce the speed limit to 20 mph on most streets and 15 mph in school zones. The law was passed in 2024<\/a> after years of advocacy led by people whose loved ones died in traffic.<\/p>\n The cycling club argues the law only applies to motor vehicles. The city Law Department, which did not respond to a request for comment, wrote in a legal filing that Sammy\u2019s Law is \u201cbroadly applicable to vehicles, e-mobility devices, and bicycles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly, this affects those who are doing training and exercise rides\u2026 15 mph would put the kibosh on that,\u201d said Peter Beadle, the attorney representing the cyclists.<\/p>\n Colin Taber, president of the New York Cycling Club, said in a legal filing that cyclists already protect safety in the park by following a \u201cCentral Park Protocol<\/a>,\u201d which instructs them to train at high speeds when the park is least crowded, in the early mornings and late evenings.<\/p>\n A January report<\/a> from the Department of Transportation that tracked average bike speeds in Central Park showed that average biker speeds exceed 15 mph only before 9 a.m.<\/p>\n \u201c[Cyclists] would be immediately and negatively affected if they were forced out of the safety of the park and out onto city streets or stayed [and] risked traffic tickets \u2014 often now in the form of criminal summons<\/a> \u2013 to train at the level they require for the sport,\u201d Taber said.<\/p>\n In a legal filing, Taber called the city\u2019s use of Sammy\u2019s Law \u201ca perversion of the purpose of that law.\u201d<\/p>\n Beadle emphasized that the lawsuit is not an attempt for cyclists to avoid following the law.<\/p>\n \u201cThere should be rules, and there are rules and they can be enforced,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what we mustn’t do is follow an unfair process specifically targeted to punish one population.\u201d<\/p>\n Betsy Smith, the president and CEO of the Central Park Conservatory, backed the reduced speed limit when it was announced.<\/p>\n \u201cA clear, consistent speed limit helps to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and motorists and makes the Drives safer and more predictable for everyone,\u201d she wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n