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After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

nytimes.com

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Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#101

Post by edmundsauto »

jacobreg wrote: post #98
bravoetch wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. NYC isn't some reference point for what other cities should do. Making a city bike friendly is available to all cities, and has been for decades. There's no trickle down bike policy, as other cities in the US are already showing.

It's not ridiculous to say the urbanest area should try to set an example for other urban areas

NYC faces problems at a scale that make it much more difficult to get done than in a lot of cities. It's not ridiculous to suggest they try, but it also doesn't naturally follow: NYC and Des Moines are not solving the same problem.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#102

Post by fernyellow »

kansface wrote: post #26
pwthornton wrote: post #5

This is big time for America. If our biggest city can’t show leadership on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, we can’t expect any other city to as well. New York is really lagging behind where it should be. Despite being by far the biggest American city, it is overrun with cars. Protected bike lanes, street improvements to make crossing the street safer, and dedicated bus lanes will improve the city for all New Yorkers…

How popular is biking in New York - eg, do people bike in the winter?

lots of deliveries are made on high speed motorized bikes they go year round

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#103

Post by CydeWeys »

kansface wrote: post #26
pwthornton wrote: post #5

This is big time for America. If our biggest city can’t show leadership on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, we can’t expect any other city to as well. New York is really lagging behind where it should be. Despite being by far the biggest American city, it is overrun with cars. Protected bike lanes, street improvements to make crossing the street safer, and dedicated bus lanes will improve the city for all New Yorkers…

How popular is biking in New York - eg, do people bike in the winter?

I bike to work year-round in NYC, and so do many other people. It doesn't actually snow that much, and when it does, it's generally cleared pretty quickly. One thing the city should do to be better on that front is buy some bike-lane-sized snow clearing machines; we currently only have truck-sized snow plows, so the streets are cleared better than the bike lanes.

The biggest problem I have with biking in the winter is when it gets brutally cold, which doesn't happen that often, hardly at all in the past few years. There was this one particularly horrible winter several years back when it was terribly cold for weeks on end, and that was rough.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#104

Post by maaaats »

gameswithgo wrote: post #81
wefarrell wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I commute on my bike in NYC daily and I am far more terrified of pedestrians and other cyclists than I am of cars. Cars for the most part pay attention and obey traffic rules. Cyclists less so and pedestrians ignore rules entirely and frequently aren't even aware of cyclists.

been a cyclist for a long time, know hundreds of cyclists, you are the first person I've heard say this. If you collide with a pedestrian or cyclist the likely result is an injury, with a car death becomes very likely. Statistics certainly back this up as the vast majority of cyclist deaths are due to vehicle collisons not bike-bike or bike-pedestrian collisions. Are you literally "far more terrified" of pedestrians…

It's just a fake "as an X" to try to make the arguments have more weight.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#105

Post by quartz »

wefarrell wrote: post #59
pwthornton wrote: post #5

This is big time for America. If our biggest city can’t show leadership on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, we can’t expect any other city to as well. New York is really lagging behind where it should be. Despite being by far the biggest American city, it is overrun with cars. Protected bike lanes, street improvements to make crossing the street safer, and dedicated bus lanes will improve the city for all New Yorkers…

I commute on my bike in NYC daily and I am far more terrified of pedestrians and other cyclists than I am of cars. Cars for the most part pay attention and obey traffic rules. Cyclists less so and pedestrians ignore rules entirely and frequently aren't even aware of cyclists.

You're being irrational with that fear. Cyclists are basically never killed by other cyclists or pedestrians.

In fact, 5 of the last 8 years had zero pedestrian deaths due to collisions with cyclists. [1]

[1] https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtm...

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#106

Post by CydeWeys »

rb808 wrote: post #85
SwellJoe wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'd be more popular if it were safer/easier. Which is true pretty much everywhere. Some of the places where biking is the most common also have quite harsh winters (e.g. Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, etc.).

Netherlands and much Denmark aren't that cold in winter, many years it wont even snow. Further the summers are cool.

It doesn't snow that often in NYC either. These past few winters it's only snowed a few times in any significant amount (i.e. actual accumulation on roadways; flurries or snow that doesn't stick doesn't count).

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#108

Post by snazz »

philwelch wrote: post #71
crazygringo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of biking isn't for your commute but rather a quick way to run an errand 5 avenues over using Citibike -- it's a 6 min ride instead of a 20 min walk. For that, super common to bike even in the winter. After all, you're already bundled up and will probably stay warmer just because you'll be outside for less time.

Also, biking itself keeps you warm. But I would be concerned about ground conditions.

I was impressed with traction on the Citibike-style bicycles here in Minneapolis the last time I tried one in the snow. The tires aren’t so huge that they always stay on top, but they get pretty decent traction.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#109

Post by e40 »

OutsmartDan wrote: post #62

As an avid cyclist in NYC, this is a huge step forward into cyclist protection. I can't tell you how many times i've almost been hit, or doored, by a car. Sometimes, it's a lot safer to run a red light to get in front of a car versus waiting for the light to turn- but of course that's not legal. Honestly, as huge and condensed NYC is, I am surprised this hasn't happened years ago. It's much, much more efficient to ge…

As a pedestrian, I've often thought that. There are no cars coming (in the direction that has the right of way), but if I wait, the cars waiting to turn might not yield to me.

My threshold for cars entering my personal space is clearly different than drivers. I've had drivers accelerate toward me and pass me with 1-2' of space. Way too close.

My rule, as a driver is simple: never accelerate toward a pedestrian. That means I have to stay on the break until they are not in front of me.

The law, btw, says that you can't go into the crosswalk until the pedestrian is has made it onto the sidewalk. At least, in CA that is the law. I was warned once, by a LEO about this.

Re: After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

#110

Post by CydeWeys »

nickles wrote: post #14
iamalexm wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that they have outlawed and happily tweet about confiscating e-bikes is digusting. NYC has a long ways to go.

> The fact that they have outlawed and happily tweet about confiscating e-bikes is digusting. NYC has a long ways to go. e-bikes have been legal in NYC for 1.5 years [0] [0] https://mashable.com/2018/04/04/electric-bicycle-nyc-ban-end...

It's more complicated than that. Pedal-assist e-bikes are now legal, but throttle-control e-bikes still aren't (although in theory they're supposed to be legalized soon). The latter constitutes the vast majority of e-bikes on the streets here.
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