Biking in New York City: The Dirty Facts

So I was going to this party with my friend in Brooklyn on the Fourth of July, and walking from the Prospect Park subway station I noticed these-

Bike paths. 

Actual, explicitly segregated bike paths alongside a two-lane road. I couldn't help myself- I stopped in my tracks to snap that pic. I needed proof. This was the kind of bike path I thought only existed in places like... like Disneyworld. Or, at least, hipster neighborhoods in Colorado. Based on where I live in Queens and where I work in Manhattan, I assumed biking was a fend-for-yourself kind of operation anywhere but an actual park, regardless of whether you were biking to work or in a large loop right back to where you started. I didn't realize that in a major metropolis, biking could be anything but a very dangerous game of survival-of-the-fittest with contestants battling erratic SUV's and randomly opening driver's doors, but here was the evidence- at least in this borough, bikers have rights. 

Of course, seeing the gorgeous paths winding through South Brooklyn is nice, but it doesn't help me much. Walking home that night, I glanced at my own street. It's big enough for me to bike with no problem, but I couldn't help but pout at the definitive absence of missing green paint and medians. After seeing the luxury of an actual bike lane, I became a little concerned. If actual bike lanes exist, what does that mean for areas without the lanes within the same city? This seems like it might be an issue. 

According to public record, NYC had about 170 miles of painted bike lanes in 2009, with other lanes either in progress or under planning. That's only a small fraction of the total mileage of roads in NYC overall, though- so for anyone biking on the regular roads, I checked. You can still bike anywhere, you just have to follow basic traffic laws. You're considered a vehicle, which means you don't have any particular right of way over traffic. This is less of an issue for a commuter, but that can make recreational biking less... well, recreational. 

Uhmmm... okay.

As someone who used to run, this is new to me. I'm used to getting the right of way, not to mention use of the sidewalks. I almost trashed the idea of getting a bike altogether- if I have to use the roads, I might as well just get a car and call it a night. It's not like I can bring my bike on the subway, right?

False. While looking up some of the bike path stats for the city, I came across some interesting information for recreational bikers and commuters alike-

First, some of the laws I found to make biking easier. In 2004, the city limited the number of cars that could drive through Central Park, then went on to limit the speed limit of said cars to 25 mph and grant the park an additional hour of car-free time in 2007. There's currently a movement to make Central Park completely car-free as well, and some people are pushing to allocate road funds specifically for speeding up the extension of bike lanes throughout the city. 

Then, for commuters. Here's what the city does to make your life easier, and what you need to know- according to a study done by the city, the number of people in New York commuting on bikes has almost doubled in the past decade. This makes sense, since roughly 40% of NYC residents live less than a dozen miles from where they work. The city has bike racks in most Metro North and LIRR stations, and is working on adding bike racks to regular city lines, but for now you can bring your bike onto the train with you with a permit, obtainable for no cost at Grand Central Station. In 2009, the city also added a law requiring buildings with freight elevators to permit employees to bring bikes into the office with them. 

Whether you're a commuter or a recreational biker, though, this caught my eye: Every May, NYC holds the 40-mile Five Boro Bike Tour for over 40,000 riders. It's the largest recreational cycling event in the United States, spanning all five borough and ending across the Harbor on the Staten Island Ferry. I think... I think I've found my new New York Marathon. 

This whole biking thing is still kind of a maze to me- it seems the more research I do about cycling, the more information I end up needing to find. It's kind of cool, though- my city's doing it's best to make biking a bigger thing. It's nice to see a road with more bikes than cars, as impractical as it is to imagine that might become the next big thing. I'm done rambling, though. Until next time... ride on! Catch ya on the flipside.