Rogue bicyclists are riding amok on the Upper West Side, forcing residents to dodge them on and off the sidewalk.
The Columbus Avenue bike lane, extended this fall, has become a playground for cyclists to ride the wrong way — or go off path entirely onto the sidewalk.
“It is just a matter of time before someone is killed or seriously injured,” said Richie Zingone, 48, of the Zingone Brothers grocery store between 82nd and 83rd streets. “I see close calls all the time.”
But cyclists were unrepentant.
Asked why he was riding the wrong way, one silver-haired biker declared, “Because I am.”
“Right way, wrong way — there is no way,” he said.
And deliveryman Will Hollingsworth, 32, said: “I go the wrong way all the time. I don’t think it’s bad at all. It’s more convenient to be able to go both ways. Pedestrians yell at me all the time. ”
This fall, the lane was stretched south to 65th Street from 77th and north to 110th from 96th, but a community leader said it is underutilized by recreational cyclists, with half of its users deliverymen.
“It’s basically not working,” said Ian Alterman, president of the 20th Precinct Community Council, adding many are worried about elderly residents’ safety.
A spokesman for the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said it is working with the council to educate cyclists and has deployed street safety teams to talk to bikers, pedestrians and drivers.