NYC bike lanes

i heard an interesting talk today by Mayor Bloomberg on the environment and his little town. while he really favors mass transportation and increasing its span and decreasing traffic congestion, he is against bike lanes in the heart of the city. he is working on them on the edge of the island and notes that bouroughs outside of Manhatten have them and it works, it just wouldn't work in downtown. he sees them as a health risk and difficult to manage due to NYC's weather.

I have to say that bike lanes add some legitimacy to riding in the street, although I would rather claim a lane if I could. NYC weather can't be that different from St. Paul's and we had terrific bike lanes.I fear for messengers in NYC and can hardly bike in DC. maybe it would require such a mind and intrastructure change that it would be too much.

what are some other thoughts? I've only visited NYC and can't imagine biking there but I would love to imagine biking where ever I wanted.

Manhattan gets less snow than the surrounding areas. Bikes are already on all these streets..

I've only visited there a few times, but I think I'd rather bike than drive a car there. No, I know I would.

hmmmm how odd that he said that. I work in the West Village, but do not bike because I commute on the Long Island Rail Road. We DO have bike lanes. In fact, they just put in a lane on the corner of the block where I work that connects the Westside to the Eastside. I thought this was great or at least as great as it can get in NYC. Since every street runs "one way" the bike lane is not even the shoulder, it is to the right of the shoulder so you don't have to swerve around parked cars. They also have bike lanes in mid-town at least down 7th Ave which goes downtown and uptown. If these are lanes that I see without going through all the streets of Manhattan I am sure they have to be throughout the city.

Even better there is the West Side Hwy Path where I walk for my lunch hour. One path for roller bladers and cyclists and another path for walkers and joggers. I believe this goes from Battery Park all the way into the 100's uptown. I have been wanting to come in on the weekend to check how far this path goes.

My problem is they do not allow bikes in the buildings here. I thought of getting a folding bike to leave in the office for lunch rides on the path insteadof walks, and a co-worker thought to be safe I may have to sneak that in and out on the freight elevator. Needless to say I am now just thinking about it, but was a burst to my bubble. :mad:

~JoAnn

As a cycling Manhattanite I'm not surprised at Bloomberg's comments. He basically hates cyclists (at least since the Republican convention in NYC). BTW, bad weather is not much of an issue here. He's out of his mind!!!
There are some bike lanes in Manhattan but they usually have double parked cars, trucks and police cars in them. Also, there is no enforcement of the bike lanes which makes them kind of useless. And they are few and far between. There is no bike lane I can use to get up to Central Park (and out of the city) from my apt without riding in crazy traffic first. Fortunately, the new head of the NYCDOT is an avid cyclist herself (Janette Sadik-Kahn) and is looking into bike lanes separated from moving traffic. Probably won't happen in my lifetime though.

Carol

Engineering, enforcement and education - and not necessarily in that order because it takes all three.

Health risk ?!?!? Is he saying bikes just shouldn't be there at all? Get the cars outta there - they're the health risk. (And weather? B.S. Complete B.S.)

I could *fully* understand a sensible cycling advocate suggesting that bike lanes aren't appropriate there - that maybe sharrows would be a better option, with education and enforcement - but "health risk?"

I live in Brooklyn but have biked in Manhattan several times. I think Bloomberg is a fool about bike lanes. They would be great everywhere, but yes, I think they would have to be separated in some way. Otherwise, everyone will just double park right on them. That happens all the time where the lanes already exist.

There are quite a lot of bike lanes in the city. I find you have to really plan out your routes to be as safe as possible. There's a great cycling map published every couple of years, and it's on the web here: http://www.transalt.org/resources/maps It not only shows bike lanes, but also streets that are particularly wide and bicycle friendly.

Biking in the city really isn't all that bad as long as you are confident and alert. Drivers are used to bikes and are basically respectful in my experience. I'm sure to make eye contact at intersections, and ride very visibly.

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Originally Posted by Jo-n-NY

...My problem is they do not allow bikes in the buildings here. I thought of getting a folding bike to leave in the office for lunch rides on the path insteadof walks, and a co-worker thought to be safe I may have to sneak that in and out on the freight elevator. Needless to say I am now just thinking about it, but was a burst to my bubble. :mad:

~JoAnn

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Bike Friday has this guerrilla campaign to test getting folding bikes into various buildings in NYC. You can see videos on their website (takes a bit of clicking around). With the folded bike in a bag, it seems to not be much of a problem.

It sounds like Mr. Bloomberg considers bicycling as a form of recreation as opposed to transportation. Getting that bicycling is a real part of the transportation system is key to getting good and useful bike facilities.

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Originally Posted by ccnyc

As a cycling Manhattanite I'm not surprised at Bloomberg's comments. He basically hates cyclists (at least since the Republican convention in NYC). BTW, bad weather is not much of an issue here. He's out of his mind!!!
There are some bike lanes in Manhattan but they usually have double parked cars, trucks and police cars in them. Also, there is no enforcement of the bike lanes which makes them kind of useless. And they are few and far between. There is no bike lane I can use to get up to Central Park (and out of the city) from my apt without riding in crazy traffic first. Fortunately, the new head of the NYCDOT is an avid cyclist herself (Janette Sadik-Kahn) and is looking into bike lanes separated from moving traffic. Probably won't happen in my lifetime though.

Carol

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Sorry Carol. Since you bike through the city and I don't you probably know better than I. I can only tell by what I see in the small area of a very large city. I compare it with Long Island that has nothing, only regular shoulders on the road that cars are also parked in and at least on the South Shore, not one Share the Road sign or any sign showing that bicycles belong, despite my numerous letters to officials. (although, I still continue to try, there is always another person in the line to write to :))

Tulip, thanks, I will check it out.



~ JoAnn

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Originally Posted by Geonz

...that maybe sharrows would be a better option, with education and enforcement - but "health risk?"

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Just MHO, however I think that sharrows s*ck! Drivers don't understand them or heed them. We've had them on some Seattle streets and it seems as though the lack of a clearly painted and well-delineated line to indicate a bike lane, means nothing. I can't see them fairing any better on Manhattan's non-stop busy streets.

Also, I've ridden on the Hudson River (westside) bike path a couple of times, as it's the final leg of the Empire State AIDS ride. We re-group on the northern end of Manhattan and ride down Riverside Dr first, then pick up the bike path all the way down to finish near Battery Park. Even little bicycles on the traffic lights! It's slow going on a busy Saturday afternoon, but works better than out on the street. Just my $.02...
Mary

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Originally Posted by Jo-n-NY

Sorry Carol. Since you bike through the city and I don't you probably know better than I. I can only tell by what I see in the small area of a very large city. I compare it with Long Island that has nothing, only regular shoulders on the road that cars are also parked in and at least on the South Shore, not one Share the Road sign or any sign showing that bicycles belong, despite my numerous letters to officials. (although, I still continue to try, there is always another person in the line to write to :))

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JoAnn: I feel your pain! I've done some rides on LI and the drivers (and roads) are definitely not bike friendly. Nothing like riding on the LIE service road to get your heart rate up quickly. :)

Carol

what are sharrows?

I've been to NYC only a few times and only in the winter. It must be a city thing that NYC doesn't get as much snow as you would assume. It is wicked cold and windy but it doesn't look like too bad of a mess. Maybe in the Twin Cities we have antsy plowers that are on the job quickly but I bike commute (bikomute) all year long.

what would it take to make the City a nice place to ride?

"Sharrows" are described as shared lane pavement markings; the markings are intended to help cyclists better position themselves on roadways where bicycle lanes are the recommended treatment, but which cannot be striped for varying reasons. They seem to be confusing for drivers and riders alike.

Also, a pic of the bike trail I referenced in a previous post...from northern end of Manhattan on west side along the Hudson all the way to the Battery.

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Originally Posted by ccnyc

There are some bike lanes in Manhattan but they usually have double parked cars, trucks and police cars in them. Also, there is no enforcement of the bike lanes which makes them kind of useless. And they are few and far between.
Carol

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As someone who lives in Manhattan and commutes from the Upper West Side to Soho, I'm encouraged by the new bike lanes they're creating in my parts of town. There's a new bike lane along Prince Street, badly needed - and surprisingly, the cars have been staying clear of it. There's a whole new traffic pattern along broadway between Houston and Canal, where there's just one big bus lane that cars are not allowed on (and that cyclists/messengers enjoy riding when there are no buses). And cars really stay off that - I bet the cops have been ticketing a lot.

I guess I'm just lucky. It would be great to have it like this for the rest of the city.

Also OT, how many other NYCers are posting here on this board? Doesn't seem like there's too many.

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Originally Posted by minan

I guess I'm just lucky. It would be great to have it like this for the rest of the city.

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You ARE lucky.
I live in Murray Hill and there is NOTHING. The East side Greenway/bike path ends around 32nd street and below that you need a mountain bike/hybrid to negotiate it. I'd have to ride on First Ave to reconnect with the Greenway/bikepath going North (which isn't really ideal for cyclists anyway, it's more of a scenic walkway along the East River). AFAIK there are no East/West bike lanes in midtown.

I'd be so happy if I could find a safe way to get to CP during the week. I just won't ride in midtown weekday traffic.

Carol

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Originally Posted by ccnyc

I'd be so happy if I could find a safe way to get to CP during the week. I just won't ride in midtown weekday traffic.
Carol

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Have you tried going on 21st to Broadway? I'm not sure I'd be brave enough, but there are bike lanes the whole way.

See http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/nyc-bike-map/ for the best online map.

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Originally Posted by rij73

Have you tried going on 21st to Broadway? I'm not sure I'd be brave enough, but there are bike lanes the whole way.

See http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/nyc-bike-map/ for the best online map.

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That's a great map. Unfortunately, I'd have to ride downtown in traffic to get to the 21st street bike lane and aagainst traffic on Broadway (which goes through Times Square :eek::eek::eek:) to head north to Central Park. If you look at the map the area between 23rd to 90th streets & 6th Ave to FDR Drive is a bike lane wasteland.
:(

Carol