Is NYC Really That Bike-Friendly?
With CitiBike expanding deeper into NYC’s many neighborhoods and 70-plus miles of new and upgraded bike lanes added this year alone, it comes as no surprise that more and more New Yorkers are taking to the streets on two wheels. However, while things appear to be changing for the better, it may come as a surprise to many that when it comes to bike-friendliness, NYC still lags way behind other urban hubs. Ahead Michael Seth Wexler of Copenhagenize, a Copenhagen-based consulting firm that publishes the world’s bi-annual bicycle-friendly city index, gives us some insight into why New York can’t seem to catch up with other cities, as well as what can be done to foster a safer more inviting space for cyclists.
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What’s actually needed is a way to make the streets safer for pedestrians, never mind bike riders. Just yesterday, while crossing 79th street and 1st avenue, an elderly man on bike runs a red light, just missing 3 women with baby strollers and me with a cane. Tell me why that bozo on that bike needs safer streets. We pedestrians do, certainly not them. I have yet to see bike riders stop for red lights. If I’m crossing the street, I will look in all directions before proceeding. And if I see a bike, I’ll stop, no matter what the light. Some bozo bike riders have stopped and nodded for me to proceed, when I have the light. Needless to say, I rail loudly at them to let them know that i have the right of way and don’t need their permission. Something needs to be done about these maniacs on 2 wheels.
I live on West 34th and have to deal with the worst drivers in the world: those from New Jersey. I had one actually blow his horn at me while I was crossing ninth avenue with the “walk sign. I own a house in Nassau County(corrupt and bankrupt) and would never THINK of bicycling out there. I think it is a suburban mindset; the streets are for gas powered vehicles only. A neighbor in my building, an elderly gentleman was crippled after being hit by a Chinese food delivery bicyclist going north on ninth avenue; the bicyclist didn’t even stop. I often bicycle along the Hudson River park nd there are some real asses thinking they are in the Olympics or the tour de France. North of 60th Street,there is an “S” curve and you would not believe how fast some come barreling through there