2026/03 – Rescind the 15 mph speed limit in Central Park

In December, former Mayor Eric Adams announced that the City would reduce the cycling speed limit on Central Park Drive from 20 mph to 15 mph. 

In February, New York Cycle Club and others filed an Article 78 Proceeding against the City arguing that cyclists would be forced to choose between riding at the speeds they’re used to, but risk a criminal summons—or ride on city streets where the speed limit is higher, but the physical dangers are much much greater.

New York Supreme Court Justice Moyne agreed with the plaintiffs and issued a temporary restraining order, enjoining the City from enforcing the rule until the case could be heard in June.

Natan Elman, New York Cycle Club

Why This Matters

Safety in Central Park matters deeply—to pedestrians, runners and cyclists alike. But the new rule does nothing to improve park user safety. Rather, it misapplies state law, disenfranchises cyclists who’ve trained safely in the Park for decades, sets a terrible precedent, and deflects from the real problem. 

It is not reckless cyclists. It is scarcity. 

DOT’s own data contradicts the rationale for a 15 mph speed limit 

NYCDOT has offered no evidence that lowering the speed limit for bicycles will meaningfully reduce injuries. The 2024 Central Park Drives Safety and Circulation Study, commissioned by the CP Conservancy, and written in part by new DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn, does not recommend reducing cycling speeds. 

In January, DOT reported that some 20 pedestrians are injured on the Drive each year. Central Park attracts some 40 million visitors annually.  20 ÷ 40 million = 0.0000005.  While all injuries should be taken seriously, this number belies DOT’s assertion that the lower speed limit is about safety. Notably absent from the DOT’s report is attribution that those injuries were necessarily caused by cyclists. 

Conversely, the City’s decision discounts the lives saves and significant economic value of cycling in the Park as a public health intervention.

DOT’s contention that lowering cyclists speed will enhance safety is at odds with a grading system developed by the Federal Highways Administration to evaluate a shared-use-path’s-level-of-service (“SUPLOS”) which focuses on user volume and mode split as key predictors of conflict.

The SUPLOS model projects that most injuries on the Drive are apt to occur in the 10AM-4PM period of peak use—when cyclists speed averages below 12 mph. 

NYCDOT

The lower speed limit will also puts casual cyclists at risk of criminal summons as the Drive contains multiple downhill sections steep and long enough to propel cyclists past 15 mph.

If the CP 15 mph speed limit is sustained, with Sammy’s Law cited as authority, it empowers the City to summarily exclude all cyclists from the very facilities they need to bike safely.

Solutions In and Around Central Park

Enforcement: New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law 1151(a) already sanctions individuals who fail to yield pedestrian right-of-way. And VTL 1180(a) targets those who maintain speed not reasonable and prudent. These laws are far better suited to address dangerous behavior than a blanket speed limit that penalizes responsible cyclists.

Education: Since 2012, racing and recreational cycling clubs have counseled members to limit group training to off-peak periods, aka Central Park Protocol, honoring Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision of reducing competition between classes of users. Yet the Conservancy has never formally acknowledged their contribution to Park user safety. That recognition is long overdue.

Engineering: The Central Park Drives Safety and Circulation Study offers a (largely unimplemented) blueprint for managing conflict. It’s recommendations include:

• Implement bikeways along CP’s transverses and adjoining roads to draw down use on the Drive while improving east-west mobility for cyclists of all abilities.

• Encourage pedestrian use of the many arches spanning the Drive. The Greyshot Arch provides an alternative to the congested crossing at West 61st Street. 

In addition, the City should issue a request for proposals to grade-separate the crossing by the Delacorte Theater, one of the most chaotic conflict points on the Drive.

Equity: Afford cyclists a fair share of CP resources.  The CP Drive Study found that:

  • Park users who arrive “by foot” comprise 48% of all visitors (runners are 38% of total) and are granted full access to all 58 miles of Park trails.
  • Park users who arrive “by bike” comprise 45% of all visitors (“fast” cyclists 13% of total). Yet this group gets only shared access to the 6.1 mile Drive.  

Central Park Drives Safety and Circulation Study, 2024.

Accordingly, to draw down peak demand on the Drive, and to help achieve a more equitable allocation of resources, the City should:

  • Rescind the 15mph speed limit
  • Formally recognize the 6-8AM and after sundown as periods at times when cyclists can train at speed, subject to conditions set forth in the CP Protocol.
  • In addition, allow cyclists to access the Drive from 5-6AM, when the Park is otherwise closed to the general public.
  • Prevail upon the Conservancy to set aside times for cyclists to access the six-mile Bridle Path—which was grade-separated from footpaths so equestrians could ride at speed.

Solutions Away from the Park

User conflict in Central Park is the predictable consequence of the City’ chronic underinvestment in cycling infrastructure needed to serve its 800,000 active adult cyclists.

By comparison, Transport for London invested $100 million in its network of cycleways in 2025 alone. Proposed projects to address this disparity include:

Fund the arterial network of bikeways long sought by NYC Greenways Coalition.

Increase bike capacity on NYC Ferry on morning outbounds from Manhattan to the robust network of bikeways spanning Bay Ridge and Rockaway.

Implement the Grayways proposal to designate 500 miles of recreational bikeways connecting neighborhoods to city parks to give residents other venues for recreation.  Also to give tourists—who may be very comfortable biking at home—compelling rationales to extend their stay. 

Resources

Neile Weissman heads up Complete George, which was formed in 2013 to advocate for modern bikeways across the George Washington Bridge. We continue to call for laws and infrastructure that support the growth of cycling.

Clarence Eckerson