Results tagged “bikelanes”

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Times' cycling blog, Spokes, reports today that the paper's coverage of bike-related issues has remained strangely consistent over the past century. In the Gray Lady's 1890s "Gossip of the Cyclers" column — which was apparently the StreetsBlog.org of the McKinnley administration — the paper covered strikingly contemporary bike issues including reckless cyclists, brake-less bikes, and even concerns about bicycle access to the Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, the Times has covered each of these issues within the past few months. Though the Times no longer refers to bicycles as "the wheel" or fast cyclists as "scorchers," it's remarkable that more than 100 years later, both the paper — and the city — are still arguing the same topics.

The group Transportation Alternatives has released a report titled “The Blueprint for the Upper West Side: A Roadmap for Truly Livable Streets,” their first neighborhood-wide plan to dramatically transform an area within the city into a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly environment. (It's available for download here.) The plan would have the greatest impact along Broadway, which the TA suggests cutting the space available to automobiles from six lanes to four, giving cyclists a lane in each direction, blocked off with obstacles like leafy planters.

The existence of dedicated bike lanes are a sought-after city feature by New York's cyclists; but even when they appear they're often blocked by delivery trucks and drivers who remain oblivious to their existence. While Mayor Bloomberg has attempted to discourage drivers--or cash in on them--in the city with congestion pricing, the mere existence of bike lanes apparently does little to prevent drivers from owning the roads. The Times looks into the conundrum of bike lane non-compliance today.

Although city regulations forbid cars from blocking bike lanes — a violation that carries a $115 fine — those rules are routinely ignored by drivers who use the lanes as parking spots, loading zones and places to pick up passengers. Such maneuvers have enraged cyclists who say they are unlawful, rude and dangerous.

Streetsblog recently featured some video from online magazine Slate, which set out to identify the stupidest bike lanes in America. Slate's conclusion: don't rely on a thin stripe of paint to protect you from idiotic or disrespectful drivers. For those who imagine that Europe is a halcyon haven of bike friendly traffic design, the Slate video has multiple examples to the contrary.