Media<\/a> coverage<\/a> focused on the dog\u2019s lack of a leash, which is not allowed on the park drives. Our own coverage<\/a> included that detail, too.<\/p>\n Streetsblog visited the East Drive near 84th Street on Monday afternoon and found cops giving tickets to cyclists. One officer posted up near the crash site told a passerby that the NYPD was there \u201cmaking sure no one blows past the red light.\u201d Still, few people truly honored the traffic signal\u2019s instructions. Most cyclists slowed down, but very few stopped at the light. (NYPD did not return a request for comment about why it continues to ticket cyclists after a cyclist has been killed even though it once said it would stop that practice<\/a>.)<\/p>\n According to the Central Park Conservancy<\/a>, dogs can be off-leash until 9 a.m., but not on the park drives<\/a>. However, a \u201cdesire line\u201d dirt path runs along the drive, and Streetsblog observed four dogs per minute using the crosswalk. The grounds adjacent to the path are beaten and barren \u2014 a sign of heavy pedestrian (and canine) traffic.<\/p>\n Lisa B., a local cyclist and dog owner who saw the aftermath of the crash, told us cyclists are faster and more numerous on weekends. She said dogs may sprint across the pathway because they smell food from a nearby food truck, but that she walks about 50 feet away from the area before she unleashes hers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just no reason for dogs to be off leash over there. It\u2019s very tragic, horrible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ken Coughlin, who helped lead the years-long fight to make the park car-free, called off-leash dogs \u201ca real hazard for cyclists.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a strong argument for requiring dogs to be leashed, except in fenced-in areas, because they\u2019re unpredictable and they\u2019re very fast,\u201d Coughlin said. \u201cI do loops in the park myself and I think about it, but you can\u2019t be prepared all the time for something darting out in your path. I think maybe the Conservancy and the Parks Department need to take a really hard look at changing the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Reporting from Sam Brule<\/p>\n \t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n \t\t In other news:<\/p>\n Lithium-ion batteries tied to an e-bike store may have caused a fire that spread into the apartments above it over the weekend. (QNS<\/a>)<\/p>\n Andy Byford: Trump will \u201csee to\u201d his still-unfunded Penn Station project getting built, whether New York likes it or not. (Daily News<\/a>)<\/p>\n Central Park Conservancy founder and former Parks Commissioner Gordon J. Davis has died. (NY Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n The MTA is paying for Amazon to maintain access to a delivery hub in the Bronx during agency-related construction as East Harlem merchants cry foul over their own alleged mistreatment during Second Avenue subway construction. (NY Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n Two drivers died in separate crashes in Queens and Brooklyn over the weekend. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n Pre-tax commuter transit benefits keep New York region commuters out of cars, according to a new report. (NJ.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\n \t![\"Cyclist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cyclist-dog-crash-1.jpg\")
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