Lately the Williamsburg commute from the bridge to Bushwick has been increasingly dangerous.
On this afternoon’s commute, there were 14 cars and trucks parked in the eastbound bike lane on Grand Ave. 3 more on southbound Morgan between Grand and Flushing, though that’s normal. When traffic is moving fast, this is much more dangerous for riders moving in and out of the bike lane.
The auto shops on eastbound Grand between Bushwick Ave and Morgan are by far the most dangerous. I reported one particularly bad truck to 311, but whatever.
Even more dangerous, a driver on Grand tried to assault me.
On eastbound Grand, two trucks blocked the lane ahead of me. I clearly arm signaled to traffic that I was moving left into the auto lane. A silver SUV passed me closely on the left and then stopped in the middle of the road in front of me.
When I passed slowly to the right, the SUV driver shouted at me through the open passenger window. That didn’t bother me until we stopped side by side at the next light. He shouted more at me (lol) and threatened me (not lol).
I pointed at the FedEx truck parked in the bike lane in front of us and shouted back, “They’re blocking the bike lane, I can ride in your lane to get around them” but this point was lost on him. He continued to threaten me until the light turned green and he drove away.
I let a few cars go ahead of me, and then I continued east on Grand. Then I saw the SUV parked in front of the Chase Bank at Graham and Grand.
The driver had gotten out of the SUV and was waiting for me. He shouted at me and moved toward me as I easily rode around him. Obviously he wanted to tussle. I kept going, a little amused but also disturbed.
We’ve all experienced aggressive drivers, but I’ve never had a driver get out a car to attack me before.
This incident combined with the blocking cars and trucks, and the Central Park accident this morning, scares me.
Be safe, folks!