Tired of Cyclists Riding on the Sidewalk? Build More Bike Lanes

The NYPD just launched a two-week campaign to enforce city bike laws that it's calling Operation Safe Cycle. This should go over about as well with the cycling community as Crystal Pepsi did with all humanity (the use of "operation" seems especially inappropriate, given its military connotation). But besides being unpopular in the short-term, the heightened enforcement might also be a poor use of public resources in the long run.

Take one of the behaviors the NYPD intends to crack down on during its campaign: riding on the sidewalk. That's a problem in lots of cities where cycling is growing, and the concern for pedestrian safety is legitimate. Some cities ban sidewalk riding outright (e.g. New York and Chicago), some ban it in certain districts (D.C. and Boston), some place so many restrictions on it that they might as well ban it (Seattle), and some ban it for jerk riders only (Los Angeles).