No more than two??!

From joe's nyc

It's been too long. But this completely outraged me when I read it today:

On July 18, 2006 the New York City Police Department proposed changing City rules regarding parade permits. The changes will put bike rides, walks, jogs and other events under the Police Department's direct control and will greatly discourage walking and biking.

Under the NYPD's proposed rules:

* Any group of two (yes, 2) or more cyclists or pedestrians traveling down a public street, who violate any traffic law, rule or regulation can be arrested for parading without a permit;
* Every group of 20 or more cyclists must obtain a permit and approved route from the NYPD;
* Every group of 35 of more pedestrians must obtain a permit and approved route from the NYPD. Read about it from Transportation Alternatives here.

What I despise about this is the blatant preference for a certain kind of transportation over others when most people in the city do not have access to cars and must get together walking or biking. These are in fact not alternative modes of transportation - it's just transportation! (And what are they going to do with all the groups travelling together in mid-town? Arrest the tourists?)

It reminds me of a story a Doylestown, PA mom told me about the improvements in her town. Her teenage kids got arrested for congregating in groups of more than 2(!) on the sidewalk. They also get kicked out of the rocking chairs on the "public" porches at Starbucks. Her kids are well-mannered, though punk-looking kids. Apparently, as the town cleaned up and got more tony, the Police and Town Council started to implement increasingly draconian regulations governing the use of public space. Is this the direction we're heading for?