New York City now has a continuous 9-mile, northbound bikeway from downtown Brooklyn up into the Bronx — running across the Manhattan Bridge, up through First Avenue, and then over the Willis Avenue Bridge. “Bikeway” apparently means protected bike lanes — not just the common, one-white-stripe variety.
The achievement has been somewhat slow in the making, rather than the result of a single buildout effort. Presumably, the bikeway will continue to be expanded, and connected to other paths as well.
People For Bikes provides more context: “Three years ago this week, Trottenberg’s revolutionary predecessor Janette Sadik-Khan left office, leaving the city’s transportation system with an uncertain future. At the time we wrote that even in New York, a city that has arguably been hurt more than any other in the country by overreliance on the automobile, it’s still possible to build new Amsterdams. Under Trottenberg (and by extension her boss Bill de Blasio), NYC DOT has unexpectedly shown how most progress happens: Not only with dramatic flourishes but also with diligence, patience and — once in a while — a moment of major payoff.”
What’s greener — the biker on the left or the BMW i3 on the right?
As is pretty clear with a look at the map above, the bikeway is substantial. As a whole, though, the city could certainly benefit from continuing improvements to bicyclist support infrastructure — both for the benefit of bicyclists and also drivers who otherwise have to sometimes contend dangerously with bicyclists. Dutch cities have colored bike lanes alongside practically every single centimeter of every single street.
Images by PeopleForBikes & David Meyer | Streetsblog NYC.
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