Bike Lane Ticket

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

My wife was issued a $115 ticket for standing in a bike lane. Several points seem pertinent:

- she was simply waiting for a person to move from the parallel metered parking abutting the lane
- it was no more than 4 minutes
- the vehicle was never unattended
- she had her blinker on indicating her intent and the motor was running
- when the officer suddenly appeared, she said "don't even think of moving this car"
- there was a vehicle illegally double parked on the corner which completely obscured the bike lane "logo" (true, but no picture proof)
- the lines are seriously degraded on the roadway
- it was 36 degrees in a heavy downpour
- I now have pictures of the worn lines, and interestingly, a picture of a police Traffic Van
parked in the lane and unattended - the officer was shopping in the ajoining store (picture of that as well)

I realize some of the above simply won't matter. Our biggest issue (beyond not knowing it was a bike lane) is: how does one parallel park in these spaces without stopping (for however long) in the bike lane... it's impossible.

Any advice on whether this can be challenged?
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New YorkWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

If it's stopping for the purposes of actually moving in or out of the space, it wouldn't be a problem. The fact that she wasn't actually in the process of parking but in fact was waiting for a space to become available. That not just standing, it's parking. The fact that you are in the vehicle with the engine running doesn't change that. I can see nothing in any of the other points you made (bolded or not) that is a defense to your illegal blocking of that lane.

To add on to Ron's post, you are not allowed to stop while you wait for somebody to exit the space you wish to park in; if the space is occupied, regardless of that driver's intent to move, you must move on and try another space or backtrack around to get another shot at it.

Bike lane ticket

Thank you both for your replies - I respect your perspectives. One last point you (Ron)didn't feel had merit I'm still confused about: If a vehicle is illegally parked and covering the bike lane marking (logo) from view and the white lines are seriously degraded, how is this much (or any) different from defective or missing signage (which I know is something you cannot be ticketed for) - there was no reasonable indication to any driver at the time that this was indeed a restricted lane of any sort. Is this not a fair argument?

Many thanks