» Bicycles

NYC Bicycle Racks Take up Parking Spaces
May 9, 2013

In 2012, NYC started installing Bicycle Lanes — street lanes dedicated to bicyclists. A Protected Bicycle Lane is located between the curb and a lane of parked cars. A Regular Bicycle Lane is located between a curbside lane of parked vehicles and a lane of traffic.

Image,_NYC_Bicycle_Corral

Source: Streetfilms

Whilst NYC is encouraging bicycle riding, we’re seeing more bicycles chained to poles and trees. Many sidewalk bicycle stands are overcrowded, frequently making it difficult for pedestrians to walk on the curb. And with Citi Bike’s NYC bicycle sharing program set to unload 6,000 bikes starting May 27, 2013, we’re going to need places to put all these bicycles.

NYC DOT is testing out a new Bike Parking Corral. These corrals are located adjacent to a Protected Bike Lane, right where a car would usually be parked. The first Corral is being piloted on 9th Ave and a single car space has room for 16 bicycles.

We like this idea:

  1. we’re not wasting any street space on cars that don’t park efficiently,
  2. NYC bicycle riders are protected, and
  3. this gets the bicycles off the sidewalk.
Filed under: Bicycles — Tags: , — mtohn @ 6:13 pm
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NYC Citi Bike Program Launches 5/27/13

NYC Citibike_bicycleAfter a number of stops and starts, NYC’s bicycle sharing program, called Citi Bike, is set to launch on May 27, 2013.

Sign up by May 17, 2013 – you can have the privilege of being part of Citi Bike’s first week

Sign up after June 2, 2013 — you can take a Citi Bike for a spin anytime.

Some Key Facts

  • 8,000 members have already signed up
  • 6,000 bikes & 330 bike rack stations in Manhattan & Brooklyn to start
  • 10,000 bikes at the height of the program

How It Works

1. Purchase access for a period of 24 hours, 7 days or annually (Annual membership is purchased online).

  • Annual Membership: $95, 45 min rides*
  • 7-Day Membership: $25, 30 min rides*
  • 24-Hour Membership: $9.95, 30 min rides* Read more…
Filed under: Bicycles — Tags: , — mtohn @ 5:46 pm
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Are NYC Bike Lanes Good?
July 31, 2012
NYC parking Bike Lanes A

More cars parked next to NYC Bicycle Lane, 1st Ave & 63rd St

NYC Parking 1st Ave & 63rd St

Cars parked next to the protected bike lane on NYC's 1st Ave

NYC Mayor Bloomberg has added 290 miles of bicycle lanes to NYC since 2002. They are most visible on 9th, 2nd, and 1st Aves, where the bike lanes are ‘protected’. A Protected Lane places the bicycle lane and a 2 foot buffer between the curb and a lane of car parking to protect the cyclists from traffic. After a little bit of market research, I believe these protected bike lanes are costing NYC revenue and parking spaces.

Full disclosure before I go any further. I am a fan of NYC public transportation. I regularly take the NYC bus and subways as well as walk. I take a taxi only when I’m in a rush, it’s late, or the subway or bus will take too long. I also drive to get in and out of Manhattan, but I rarely drive in the city. And I never ride a bicycle in NYC.

I wasn’t an early fan of the bicycle lanes because they took away one traffic lane that could be used by cars and taxis, and the new Select Service (fast) bus lanes on 1st & 2nd Aves also take away one lane of traffic.

NYC Parking

Cars parked curbside on E 85th St

But lately, these bicycle lanes feel like they’re doing more harm than good. A few days ago I took these photos of cars parked next to the protected bike lane on 1st Ave in the 60s (photos above). Read more…

Filed under: Bicycles — Tags: , , , , , — mtohn @ 6:29 pm
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NYC Bike Share Program
July 25, 2012

NYC Citibike_bicycleWith an additional 390 miles of NYC bike lanes added since 2002 – for a total of 700 miles of NYC bicycle lanes- you’ll soon be able to pick up a bicycle on the street and ride away!

Sometime in the second half of 2012 (the launch date seems to be a moving target), the Citibike program will launch. Here’s how it works:

1. Purchase access for a period of 24 hours, 7 days or annually (Annual membership is purchased online).

  • Annual Membership: $95, 45 min rides
  • 7-Day Membership: $25, 30 min rides
  • 24-Hour Membership: $9.95, 30 min rides

2. Go to any of the 600 bike-share stations to access one of the 10,000 bicycles in Manhattan, Brooklyn, & Queens Read more…

Filed under: Bicycles — Tags: , , — mtohn @ 12:44 pm
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NYC Bridge & Toll Pricing Plan
March 27, 2012
NYC Bridge & Tunnel Toll Plan, Sam Schwartz

Courtesy: Wall St Journal

Sam Schwartz, aka ‘Gridlock Sam’, has been working on a new plan to ease NYC’s traffic and congestion. This isn’t the Congestion Pricing Plan from 2008. This plan is designed to encourage public transportation where it’s available by charging vehicles at congested areas, and not charge where there isn’t good public transportation. Here are the highlights of the plan:

  • Queensboro Bridge/59th St Bridge: No toll into Manhattan becomes $7 toll to reduce the congestion on the bridge. Read more…
Filed under: Bicycles,Congestion / Traffic Pricing,Driving & Traffic News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — mtohn @ 10:44 am
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NYC Bicycle Tickets 2011
March 12, 2012

All those added miles of NYC bike lanes seem to have increased the number of tickets issued to bicyclists. Transportation Nation has reported that:

In 2011, 48,566 summonses were given to bicyclists:

  • 13,743 were for Moving Violations (eg. riding on the sidewalk or a pedestrian path in a park)
  • 34,813 were for Criminal Court Summonses (eg. going through a red light)

As a comparison, in 2011 truck drivers were given 25,377 summonses: 14,960 for Moving Violations & 10,415 for Criminal Court Summonses.

The New York City Department of Transportation reports that about 250,000 people ride a bike each day in New York City, and about 500,000 ride at least several times a month.

 

Filed under: Bicycles — Tags: , , — mtohn @ 10:07 am
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How to Reduce Congestion
February 17, 2012

Many cities are facing the problem of too many cars and traffic congestion. According to Dennis Burns, a guest columnist for the International Parking Institute magazine, Parking Professional, here are some ideas from around the world:

  • In Singapore, prospective vehicle owners are required to obtain a Certificate of Entitlement, which can start at $48,000 in local currency for a small-size automobile.
  • Some countries are considering metered charges for private car use. A satellite/internet based system would track your car via GPS and calculate a charge for each trip on a mileage-based formula that incorporates the car’s fuel efficiency.
  • A number of European cities have begun to reduce the supply of parking spots within their cores. Read more…
Filed under: Bicycles,Driving & Traffic News — Tags: , — mtohn @ 10:48 am
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Bike Lane Tickets
August 23, 2011
Casey Neistat

Casey Neistat

I seem to be writing about NYC bicycle lanes a lot this week. I’m glad I am, too, because this video is pretty funny. Casey Neistat got a ticket for NOT riding his bicycle in the NYC bicycle lane, and he made a video about it. Check out the Huffington Post to watch the video. It’s pretty amusing.

Filed under: Bicycles,Getting Around NYC — Tags: — mtohn @ 2:02 pm
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Bike Lanes on 1st & 2nd Aves
Protected Bicycle Lane on NYC's 9th Avenue

Protected Bicycle Lane on NYC's 9th Avenue

So I’m waiting to walk across 2nd Avenue at 56th Street this past Saturday afternoon at the left-hand lane, which is on the east side of the street, when a cyclist — not wearing a helmet — careens past me with a frightened look covering his face. He’s in a newly painted NYC bicycle lane and a NYC taxi is trying to pull over to let out a passenger. Chaos ensues.

Painted Bicycle Lane on NYC's East 90th Street

Painted Bicycle Lane on NYC's East 90th Street

Turns out that NYC DOT (Department of Transportation) has just painted bicycle lanes on 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue from 34th – 59th Streets. These NYC bicycle lanes are being treated as regular lanes, though, unlike the other bicycle lanes which are protected from moving cars and NYC taxis by a lane dedicated to parked vehicles. These photographs show the difference between a ‘protected’ and a ‘painted’ bicycle lane. Obviously, a protected bicycle lane shield cyclists from moving vehicles and doors opening into them, plus dedicates that lane solely to cyclists. A painted bicycle lane, on the other hand, means that vehicles can use that lane along with cyclists and many vehicles see a painted lane as an opportunity to double-park or stop to pick up and let off passengers.

Painted Bicycle Lane on NYC's 9th Ave

Painted Bicycle Lane on NYC's 9th Ave

Why all these new NYC bicycle lanes? According to CBS2 News, Joshua Benson, Director of Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs for the NYC DOT, says that where bicycle lanes have been installed, they’re seeing 10% of the traffic coming from bicycle users. NYC has added 250 miles of bicycle-only lanes in the past four years and these bicycle lanes are popping up all over NYC, which means you need to be extra careful if you’re doing any NYC driving.

And there’s still a whole lot of confusion out there if bicyclists are supposed to follow pedestrian or vehicle traffic rules.

Filed under: Bicycles,Getting Around NYC — Tags: , , , — mtohn @ 1:24 pm
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NYC Bike Share Program

With all those new bicycle lanes in NYC, what happens if you don’t have a bike? That’s where NYC bicycle-sharing comes in.

You’d pay a membership fee and then be able to use any of the 10,000 bicycles located at 600 bike racks in Manhattan south of 60th Street.

According to Crain’s New York Business, NYC has just a few weeks until the September 1, 2011 deadline to pick the vendor to supply the bikes and racks, and implement the program.

The NYC bicycle sharing program was supposed to launch in April 2012, but now it’s been pushed back to mid-2012.

Filed under: Bicycles,Getting Around NYC — Tags: — mtohn @ 12:49 pm
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