Bicycle Blueprint - Conclusion and Recommendations

Introduction

NYC Cycling
1. NYC Bike Policy
2. State of NYC Cycling

Cyclists & Streets
“A Bike and a Prayer”

Riding Infrastructure
4. Street Design
5. Bridges
6. Road Surfaces
7. Greenways
8. Parks
9. Bicycles and Transit
10. Reducing Traffic

Security
11. Bicycle Theft
12. On-Street Parking
13. Indoor Parking

On the Job Cycling
14. Bicycle Messengers
“Fifth, Park & Madison”
15. Freight Cycles
16. Gov't Cycling

Reducing Risks
17. Accidents
“Three Who Died”
18. Air Pollution

Bicycle Education
19. Schools
20. Public Education

Appendices

Chapter 3:
Cyclists and City Streets
a) Where Do Bikes Fit In?
b) No Room on the Street
c) The Rule Books
d) Why Cyclists Do What They Do
e) Making the Streets Safer

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

The climate in which cyclists ride is a product of both a set of implicit rules on the streets themselves and explicit city and state rules that set the tone for that behavior. Permeating both is a deeply ingrained bias favoring motor vehicles, coupled with a failure to take the different needs of cyclists seriously. The fact that some 75,000 New Yorkers ride bikes regularly despite enduring third-class treatment attests to the sheer practicality and attractiveness of urban cycling. But if the city really wants to encourage its citizens to ride, it must begin by making the streets more welcoming. Cyclists' needs are not the same as motorists'; in fact, they are much simpler and cheaper to accommodate.

Chapter 3 Recommendations

AGENCIES

NYC Dept. of Transportation

Reduce speed limits on avenues and streets to reflect normal congested conditions. Re-time traffic lights accordingly. Inaugurate phased pedestrian-cyclist traffic lights to give non-motorized travelers a safe head start before motorists, as in European cities. Plan to discourage, not accommodate, motor traffic. Phase-in neighborhood “traffic calming” projects.

NYC Police Department

Enforce motor vehicle and traffic laws governing:

motor vehicle speeds (enforce 30 mph speed limit on all city streets, and lower speed limits instituted on some avenues and streets);
parking and double-parking violations;
blocking of bicycle lanes;
infringement of cyclist right-of-way.

NY State Dept. of Transportation

Hire a full-time bicycle program director as directed by the federal ISTEA law (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991). The position should be at a high enough level to command sufficient responsibility to ensure implementation of bicycle capital programs in all 11 State DoT regions. The NYS DoT should formally involve the NY State Bicycle Coalition in the selection process.

LEGISLATIVE

In consultation with the cycling community, amend the New York City Traffic Rules as follows:

Add the following new sections to Article 5:

Section 52. Turning vehicles shall yield to straight-through bicycle traffic.
Section 53. Vehicles changing lanes shall not interfere with the right-of-way of a bicyclist.

Add the following new section to Article 8:

Section 97. Drivers and passengers entering and exiting a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid interfering with cyclists, especially in opening vehicle doors.

Amend Article 11:

Section 157 (which prohibits bicycles on expressways, highways, interstate routes, etc. unless authorized by signs): Bicycle access to roadways and bridges shall only be denied through the rule promulgation procedure of the Dept. of Transportation.

a) Where Do Bikes Fit In?
b) No Room on the Street
c) The Rule Books
d) Why Cyclists Do What They Do
e) Making the Streets Safer

Conclusion and Recommendations