SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Expanding bike lanes, handing out free helmets and making lessons free: New York is making great strides in encouraging pedal power at the expense of exhaust fumes, even if some cyclists are still nervous about navigating bottleneck traffic.
For years, the city of 8.5 million—which has the most extensive public transport network in the United States—stood and watched the bike boom take off in European capitals.
In 2013, then billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the Citi Bike sharing scheme and since then, New York has seen the fastest growth rate in cycle use of any big US city.
"The city has come a long ways in terms of having a much stronger commitment to promoting bicycling," says Rich Conroy, education director for Bike New York, a non-profit organization that encourages safe cycling.
"People realize we can't grow as a city by building more streets and adding more cars," explained Conroy.
Get exercise time in, lose weight, get to work, and save money all at the same time. What's not to love?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 22 2017, @12:40PM (2 children)
Winter time in NYC isn't as bad as non-New Yorkers might think. The ocean currents generally keep it pretty warm. When I was in the shipyard in Brooklyn, we rode our motorcycles for most of the winter.
That said - we also saw a helluva snowfall in 1983. 24 inches fell in about five hours, and shut the city down! Pretty sunshiny day when we went in to work, still nice at lunch time, and when we came out again at 4:30, there was about a foot and a half on the ground, with more falling.
So - bicyclists will need to pay attention to the forecast. And, hope the weather man is right!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday November 22 2017, @04:41PM
Also they plow and salt roads, so the shared bike lanes are passable, and they plow and salt dedicated bicycle paths. Climbing over snow banks to reach buildings is no fun, but that's true for pedestrians and drivers alike.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday November 22 2017, @05:18PM
Yeah, I spent the first 27 years of my life in NYC. Milwaukee is a lot worse (yes, Uzzard, I KNOW my traffic appears to be coming out of Madison or Fitchburg. It's not. Proxies are a wonderful thing...). I've still got family out there and they wonder why anyone would ever leave.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...