Bicycle Friendly NYC survey results

Results are in! In the end, the response to the Bicycle Friendly Survey was fantastic, and tons of good points were raised.

Here’s a little bit of what was said:

1. 65% of respondents believe NYC to be bicycle friendly.  Most attributed this to an increased amount of bike lanes being laid down in recent years, the increased cycling presence, and a city government who seems committed to making the city a better place to ride.

2. The biggest factors that influenced the respondent’s decision to ride were (starting with the  most popular): rain/snow/ice, the heat/cold, the distance of the trip,  and the amount of parking available.

(Hopefully the Bicycle Access Bill can alleviate the last point a bit).

3. There were an array of answers about what is the least favorite part of riding in NYC, but there was one common theme: the disrespect. Whether it be cars/trucks parking in bike lanes, cars honking at you, or the drivers feeling like they can speed by you in a shared lane, many riders still believe that we still have a lot of work to do to achieve equal footing in the streets.

This was a bit sad to read, yet not surprising, since I feel the exact same way. I can’t help but think of the bike shop owner in Amsterdam who, when comparing riding in his city to mine, said to me “here, bike is king”.  Unfortunately, here, bike is still third class.

4. By far, my favorite piece of the survey were the favorite parts of riding a bike in NYC. Again, many different answers, but a few responses shared in one key aspect: the fun of discovering your city.

To me, this is such an overlooked part of riding around NYC. You see things differently. You hear new sounds, smell new smells, see new sights, and go to different places. This crazy place suddenly becomes a bit more manageable. If I worked for the DOT, I would make this the center of an awareness campaign to try and get more people on bikes.

Thanks to all who took the survey. If you missed your chance, but are now thinking of a good point/story that you could weigh in with, feel free to email bicycleisbeautiful@gmail.com.

vehicular cycling

At some point, I promised to comment more about my observations on vehicular cycling (and cyclists), as well as my ride in Boston with John Allen, a strong proponent of vehicular cycling and author of Bicycling Street Smarts.

For now, I amgoing to focus on the argument of bikeways versus non-bikeways (the side that many vehicular cyclists take—like John Forester here).

Over the course of this project, I have seen a wide variety of riding styles—from the breakneck maneuvering of bicycle messengers to the ultra-timid riders who choose only to cycle on sidewalks (and perhaps the greenway). Of course, most cyclists in NYC  fall somewhere in between, and can get about just fine. A majority choose to use safer avenues such as 8th or 9th,  stay off avenues like 7th and Broadway, and enjoy riding on narrow, slow-moving side streets.

Because of this, I have to agree with those who call for more cycletracks to be built, especially on fast-moving avenues. The difference in body language and cycling style, not to mention the sheer number (and range of demographic) of cyclists on 8th and 9th Avenues is astonishing. People are enjoying themselves—males, females, young, and old—and can focus on things that have nothing to do with being hit by a car. You just don’t see this on other streets.

To me, this should be the ultimate goal:  to get more people on bikes. An increase in cyclists will do more for our  safety than almost anything else. Whenever I have been part of a bike flock (which, sadly, has been rare), the way that other members of the street community treated us completely changed.  We demanded respect and attention, making everybody safer.

Riding with Mr. Allen in Boston, I felt safe, but only because I was following a rider who knew exactly what he was doing (and am pretty confident on a bike myself). If we would have asked a first-time urban cyclist to join us, he or she would have likely been much too timid to merge into moving traffic to avoid the right turn lane. This is not good.

I do agree with the opponents of cycletracks who say that they don’t eliminate the dangers of the intersection, where most collisions take place. It’s true—the danger will be reduced by the increased amount of riders. This is the problem with their argument: they look at bikeways and traffic as individual pieces  instead of a system. With more riders on the road, drivers will be forced to be more cautious and respect the presence of another form of transport.  (Don’t believe me? Read this book for real-life examples)

Listen, I understand that vehicular cyclists want riders to be smarter and more skilled—it is a good goal that will also increase safety. We just have to go about things in a logical order. Once more cyclists are on the road,  it will be easier to implement safe driving/cycling educational programs that cover many of the concepts found in vehicular cycling handbooks.

We just have to get there first.

last chance to take the Bicycle Friendly NYC survey

This will be the last week that the Bicycle Friendly NYC survey—your chance to make your voice heard on all that you like and don’t like about cycling in the city—will be open. If you haven’t done so yet, why not click here and do it now? Also, be sure to tell all of your bicycle-riding friends to do the same. It takes just a few minutes, and the Bicycle is Beautiful project will be eternally grateful.

The survey results will shed some light on the good and bad of being a cyclist in NYC, and be used to generate recommendations on how to make the city a better place to ride.

To those that have already taken the survey: thanks again for your help—feel free to sit back and await the results.

notes from the road: 9th Street & Christopher Street

Thoughts while wishing Doc Holliday’s was at the end of the bike lane at Christopher…

1. The intersection at 9th Street and Broadway can be tricky for cyclists and drivers alike. At the crossing, 9th becomes two lanes, with neither having directional assignments (straight or left turn). Due to this, about half of the cars in the left lane end up merging on to the right lane, instead of waiting for the car in front of it to turn. Cyclists in the bike lane, which is on the left side of the street, also have to merge, sometimes requiring them to do so between turning traffic and merging cars. It seems like I bring up the pattern from the end of Bleecker in every post these days, but wouldn’t it make sense here?

9th Street at Broadway: a tough merge can await cyclists.

2. The 6th Avenue  & Greenwich Avenue intersections (where 9th becomes Christopher) is another tricky one. As you approach 6th, the bike lane is on the left side of the road. Between 6th and Greenwich, there the bike lane moves to the right side, so by the time you are past Greenwich, you are on the right side of the road. This caused huge headaches for many cyclists, especially if traffic was already moving when they hit the crossing.

At one point, another cyclist and myself came to the intersection at the same time. He stayed on the left hand side of the road through both intersections and on to Christopher. I made the merge the way it was designed. We ended up on opposite sides of Christopher, causing the cars to have to squeeze. The problem here: my move felt much less safe and the other rider moved much more intuitively—not a sign of good planning.

Wouldn’t it make sense to switch the parking and bike lanes on Christopher, so the cyclist stays on one side the entire time? I realize that it will eventually have to shift (Christopher becomes a 2-way later on), but surely there are safer ways to pull it off, no?

9th Street at 6th Avenue: The bike lane switches from the left to right side.

9th Street at 6th Avenue: if traffic is moving when the cyclist arrives, the merge can be a tricky one.

3. And since things usually come in threes, one last tricky intersection: the begninning of 9th Street at Avenue A, which has 2-way traffic at that point.  Cyclists turning right on to 9th have to merge pass both lanes of turning  traffic to reach the cycle lane on the left hand side. Cyclists turning left on to 9th are usually starting on the outermost portion of Avenue A (unless they get there at a red light and use the bike box), and have to merge past straight traffic on A, and in to the left turn traffic to hit 9th. It is not the easiest way of doing things. Any ideas on how to improve this?

9th Street at Avenue A: getting on the bike lane can require merging past buses or multiple lanes of traffic.

4. There is nothing like a great bike flock to end a ride.

A bike flock forms on Christopher.

NYC’s Best Commute

More on creating an awareness campaign for cycling in NYC is going to come soon, but for now just one thought.

A few days ago I saw a commercial for car oil celebrating “The World’s Worst Commute“. The spots document people with terrible, traffic-jammed commutes.

There should be a similar campaign entitled “NYC’s Best Commute”. My entry would be: I bike home from work with the sunset.

I bike home from work with the sunset.

Feel free to reply with your “NYC Best Commute” entry (also feel free to tag a Flickr photo with NYCbestcommute).

notes from the road: 10th Street

10th Street should have a dorky nickname like the “Crosstown Corridor” or “West-East Express”—it is a relatively quick (seriously, I was at 5th Ave in record time) and safe way to get from river to river. A few thoughts on my Monday afternoon ride:

1. I have not seen all of the streets in NYC, but 10th has to be up there for having the most variation in bike infrastructure. It flows from painted green bike lane to shared bike route to non-painted bike lane and back in blocks at a time. I wonder if this inconsistent appearance has an effect on the attitudes of its users?

Does inconsistent appearance affect use?

2. At Avenue A, 10th Street turns into a 2-way street, and the bike lane shifts from the left side of the street to the right side of the 2-way (see image below). This presents a tough challenge for a cyclists arriving mid-light—they will have to merge into the 2-way intersection, and sometimes weave around a bus once crossing. Would a pattern similar to the end of Bleecker seems like it would make sense here?

Shifting bike lane.

3. Speaking of buses, do shared bike routes work on narrow streets with double-sided parking and bus service (especially on 2-ways)? The shared portions of 10th seem to be holding it back from becoming a truly great route for bicycles. Why couldn’t the street lose one side of parking, put in a bike lane at the curb, and do away with the sharrows?

Sharrows and buses.

4. Cars—or should I say drivers—are crazy. The more I observe streets, the more I realize how dangersous so many drivers are. There is a section of 10th street where the narrow, one-lane street opens up about 50% (not enough to become two lanes). During my ride, I saw more than one car attempt to speed past another by using this new space. When they realized there wasn’t enough room, the driver had to brake hard and fall back into the pattern. This is just the tip of the iceberg—I see crazy stuff like this happen all of the time.

My point: if streets are going to become bicycle friendly, then drivers need to be forced (via smart planning) to act responsibily. Traffic calming can be just as effective as laying down bike lanes.

5. I love bike love…

Bike love.

the best trike in the world

A Sunday bike ride to Brooklyn ended at Drummers Grove in Prospect Park, which happens every Sunday afternoon (nice weather permitting) and is one of the “you have to see this” events that happen in NYC all of the time.

Anyway, one drummer brings at least 7 large percussion instruments via  tricycle (using it as a dolly instead of transportation). The weight of the gear is so great that it causes the trike to fall back, leaving the front wheel raised in the air. Although I’m not holding any formal contest, I instantly deemed this the best trike in the world.

Abiding by the rules of the circle, I didn’t snap a photo—you’ll have to check it out for yourself (it is completely worth it).