Central Park cyclists have made the urban oasis a dangerous place for a stroll this year — striking 38 pedestrians while racking up more than 800 summonses for speeding or reckless biking, NYPD data show.
The rash of accidents — including two deaths — has occurred in various sections of the park at all hours despite stepped-up patrols at the intersections, the precinct’s commanding officer said on Monday night.
There have been 52 percent more pedestrians struck in 2014 than the 25 who were hit in 2013, according to NYPD stats.
Officers have given out 810 summonses this year as of Sunday for violations including failure to yield, running red lights and wearing headphones while riding.
The NYPD beefed up bicycle enforcement in the park after two fatal accidents and three others that left the victims with cracked skulls.
Police wrote just 195 summonses for the same period last year.
Inspector Jessica Corey revealed the stats at a community board meeting Monday on the Upper West Side — and she said cops had stepped up the ticketing even before the fatalities.
“We were doing enforcement prior to these deaths,” Corey said
Jill Tarlov, a 59-year-old mom from Connecticut, was rammed by speeding cyclist Jason Marshall last month as he tried to beat his personal best time around the park, sources have said.
A month earlier, 75-year-old runner Irving Schachter, 75 was struck and killed by a teen who swerved to avoid a pedicab.
Parkgoers said no amount of enforcement is too much.
“I think police should be enforcing bike rules more than they have been,” said Greta Bogdanova, 35. “I’ve had bikes almost hitting me because they go so fast, especially around corners when I don’t always see them coming.
“They’re like cars, only worse,” she added.
Upper East Side resident Tim Martin, 28, agreed.
“If cops are cracking down on cyclists, I haven’t seen much of a difference,” he said. “There are just as many bikes flying down the road today as there were a year ago.”
Additional reporting by Reuven Fenton