In Seattle, where I live, we've already noticed it's easier to get around downtown on a bike, but this is New York!!


http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20...e-always-wins/


Some Reasons the Bike Always Wins
By Jennifer 8. Lee
CommuteA commuting race between a bicyclist, a driver and a subway rider ends in a victory for the bicyclist. (Photo courtesy Transportation Alternatives)

A bicyclist, a driver and a subway rider walked into a bar.

No, actually they didn’t. The three actually raced from Fort Greene to Union Square during today’s morning commute to see who got there fastest in Seventh Annual Great NYC Commuter Race, held by Transportation Alternatives (essentially an anti-car lobbying group). Think of it as a more modest version of a planes, trains and automobiles race from New York to Washington.

The race started at 7:40 a.m. at Connecticut Muffin, 423 Myrtle Avenue, at Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn, and finished at the corner of 14th Street and Union Square East.

The results: bicyclist wins at 16.5 minutes; the driver gets in at 22 minutes; and the subway rider transit was last with 29 minutes. That’s an intriguing result. (We’d thought the subway would have come earlier than the car given morning traffic.)

“New Yorkers care about the environment, but what New Yorkers really care about is their time,” said Wiley Norvell, the spokesman. “For a huge number of New Yorkers, bicycle commuting is the fastest way to get to work. If you have more than one train for your commute. Chances are a bicycle is going to get there faster.”