Cycling advocates see promise in recent city initiatives but say they’d like to see the administration take more aggressive action overall when it comes to transforming New York’s streets.
‘The next time you’re driving or otherwise find yourself on Bushwick Avenue or Broadway ask yourself, Do I feel safe? Are the streets safe for children and older adults? Would I encourage people to bike or use Citi Bike here?’
The neighborhood has been in the middle of a tug-of-war between some local leaders and citywide policy over how far to go to accomodate bikers.
Activists say 15 cyclists have been killed on the city’s streets so far this year, including three fatalities that took place in one week.
The reduction of traffic deaths in New York City under his Vision Zero program is one of Mayor de Blasio’s talking points as he runs for president. But while deaths have fallen, an advocate and a Councilmember agree that progress has slowed.
The majority of the city’s designated bike lanes are unprotected: basically nothing more than around thee-feet wide stretches of asphalt marked by strips of paint and an occasional bike lane symbol. That has to change.
‘Little of what the NYPD does in the name of Vision Zero actually fits the definition of the term. Just the opposite. Punishing cyclists with mass ticketing each time a lawful bicycle rider is killed or seriously injured by a reckless driver undercuts safety.’
A thoughtlessly opened car door knocked the author off her bike, for a year. Deeper than the asphalt wounds was a terror of cars and new insight into what a genuine commitment to Vision Zero will take, from all New Yorkers.
Both conservative law-and-order and liberal-minded urban planning leave poor communities of color in the crosshairs. Public spaces, a theoretically shared space, become battlefields.
Unlike its counterparts in other cities, Citi Bike is privately financed. But amid a push for it to serve more neighborhoods, and with city law requiring the company to publicize its finances soon, some believe a move toward partial public funding is likely.