Boardwalking

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Rare ticket given to couple riding bikes on the #coneyisland #boardwalk

Walk to End Alzheimer's drew a big turnout in morning

Bike rider should have walked bike through the crowds

Festive atmosphere with lots of families

Not surprising that the boardwalk would be crowded on this spectacular day. But with the 2013 Walk to End Alzheimer's starting at 9am and a large turnout in the afternoon by Hasidim and their families to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot it was more festive with large numbers of families and young boys and girls in and out of hundreds of strollers. It is always difficult to navigate by bike around the masses on the boardwalk and the prudent and considerate thing to do is get off and walk your bike for everyone's safety. But today was especially busy including a presence of heavy security.. Earlier I had just observed a woman in a light blue top speeding and swerving through the densely packed groups and wondered if she had a clue how reckless she was. As I turned to go back I observed this young couple being stopped by a police officer and given a ticket for riding their bike on the boardwalk. They obviously were unaware of the rule which forbids any bike riding except between the hours of 5am-10am. .
The young woman explained that this was her first visit to Coney Island and she saw no signs or warning that biking was not permitted. She is partly correct. The signs are stenciled at the bottom of the ramps that enter the boardwalk at various locations along the route.. But they are not very visible and it is easy to miss the faded decals as one rides up the ramp.
I tried to warn other riders about the police ticketing and most got off and walked or turned back. One elderly woman told me to "F*** Off! I hope she got caught.

The parks department needs to make the signs more visible as one enters onto the boardwalk. The parks department has a love affair with these decals along Ocean Parkway as well. The older ones are barely readable and the newer ones don't seem to do the job although the graphics are nice. Brightly colored signs that are at eye level must be installed.
Soon afterwards I noticed the woman in the blue top speed again returning from the Coney Island amusement area. I don't think she got a ticket. Felt bad for the two that did. It was the first time ever I saw a ticket being written for riding on the Boardwalk in the twenty years I have been going there..

Police officer writes ticket to couple for riding their bikes on the Coney Island Boardwalk

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Mom, daughter, and pet dog

Today was pretty windy at the beach. Blowing sand kept many people on the boardwalk and away from the shoreline. As I was leaving I took this shot of this family sitting just off the steps that lead onto the beach. Didn't realize their pet dog was part of this crew until checked out the pic later. You can tell how windy it was by the white caps on the ocean. Long lens gave me a better result than I expected. Brought back memories of our visits to the beach with the kids as they grew up only a few steps from the sand and surf.