New York City and Bikes -- an Oxymoron?
- By Noreen Adler
- Published 05/12/2008
Noreen Adler
Founder and President, Ecobrownstone
Noreen is Founder and President of Ecobrownstone. She has been a resident of brownstone Brooklyn (Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens) for over two decades and has planned, designed and managed a wide range of renovation and real estate development projects in Brooklyn and elsewhere. As a developer she is a member of the NYC Committee evaluating the LEED for Homes Guidelines for application in New York. She also has a personal passion for sculptural relief ceramic tiles and murals which she has designed and fabricated at her studio on the Gowanus Canal.
How delighted I was a year or so ago when Brooklyn Heights sprouted a glowing green bike path on Henry street -- so cheerful and inviting, shouting to the world that NYC is encouraging bikers. Well, it's at least colorful. By the tone of the angry comments in this weeks New York Times City Room invitation to submit comments about cycling in NYC to Joshua Benson, the bicycle program coordinator for the New York City Department of Transportation, one would think there is a war going on.
Biking in New York is dangerous, there's no question about it, you've really got to be alert and we've all got to face the fact that it will take a long time to change people's instincts about how to use the streets, and that goes for all concerned. If we are making broad behavioral generalizations then we must acknowledge not only that drivers can be reckless when it comes to bikers, but it's time for bikers to admit that they can be reckless when it comes to pedestrians -- if cars have to stop for pedestrians, so do bikes. Cyclists often behave like quasi motorists and quasi pedestrians. Judging by some of the comments submitted to Joshua Benson, some cyclists want to rule the road as motorists, but it's also common practice for cyclists to go through red lights, swerve around and through crowds of pedestrians at top speed going any which way as if they are pedestrians too, drive the wrong way down the street and so on. Cyclists may feel like they can 'pass' as a pedestrian because they are not in an enclosed vehicle and their feet can touch the ground, but they are in fact a vehicle. And pedestrians must respect the cyclists right of way in the bike lane (unless there is a red light!).
Now that we've got the "mutual respect" and "follow the rules of the road" comments out of the way, it's time to turn our attention to talk of some things that the city can do to further that goal and to make it easier for people to use bikes as a means of transport. One query I posted to Joshua Benson is regarding bike parking. Cyclists need a place to safely leave their bikes. Parking garage owners typically do not accept bikes, maybe it's insurance, maybe some other reason. The suggestion I submitted is to develop some kind of incentive program for parking garages to cater to cyclists. Perhaps a tax credit for setting aside a portion of their car parking spaces for bikes, and for bike parking rates to be at most 1/4 of the car rate since you can get at least 4-6 bikes in one car space. This could be a profitable undertaking for garage owners and a plus for the city's green goals.
Biking in New York is dangerous, there's no question about it, you've really got to be alert and we've all got to face the fact that it will take a long time to change people's instincts about how to use the streets, and that goes for all concerned. If we are making broad behavioral generalizations then we must acknowledge not only that drivers can be reckless when it comes to bikers, but it's time for bikers to admit that they can be reckless when it comes to pedestrians -- if cars have to stop for pedestrians, so do bikes. Cyclists often behave like quasi motorists and quasi pedestrians. Judging by some of the comments submitted to Joshua Benson, some cyclists want to rule the road as motorists, but it's also common practice for cyclists to go through red lights, swerve around and through crowds of pedestrians at top speed going any which way as if they are pedestrians too, drive the wrong way down the street and so on. Cyclists may feel like they can 'pass' as a pedestrian because they are not in an enclosed vehicle and their feet can touch the ground, but they are in fact a vehicle. And pedestrians must respect the cyclists right of way in the bike lane (unless there is a red light!).
Now that we've got the "mutual respect" and "follow the rules of the road" comments out of the way, it's time to turn our attention to talk of some things that the city can do to further that goal and to make it easier for people to use bikes as a means of transport. One query I posted to Joshua Benson is regarding bike parking. Cyclists need a place to safely leave their bikes. Parking garage owners typically do not accept bikes, maybe it's insurance, maybe some other reason. The suggestion I submitted is to develop some kind of incentive program for parking garages to cater to cyclists. Perhaps a tax credit for setting aside a portion of their car parking spaces for bikes, and for bike parking rates to be at most 1/4 of the car rate since you can get at least 4-6 bikes in one car space. This could be a profitable undertaking for garage owners and a plus for the city's green goals.
