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In Copenhagen, bikes and buses work together to tame traffic.
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The City has been trying to improve bus service on First and Second Avenues for years, and with good reason: the M15 is notoriously slow, and it serves as a crucial connector for hundreds of thousands of people who live and commute along Manhattan's far-east side. So when the City announced that some Bus Rapid Transit features, like bus bulbs, separated lanes and pre-fare boarding, would be installed along that corridor, it wasn't much of a surprise.
What shocked most observers, though, was the absence of a full commitment to install protected space for bicyclists, along with the new bus improvements. Transportation Alternatives and other advocates agree that protected bike lanes are a commonsense addition to any avenue overhaul, particularly on Manhattan's East Side, where safe space for cyclists is at a premium.
Take a second and email DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan. Tell her:
Protected bike lanes paired with significant bus improvements on First and Second Avenue would shorten commute times for thousands of New Yorkers, make it easier for more people to live active lifestyles, encourage fewer car trips and make two major thoroughfares safer for pedestrians by calming traffic.
