In June of 2003, Transportation Alternatives bike program director Noah Budnick and I had a meeting with a small group of high-level Department of Transportation officials at the agency's Brooklyn borough commissioner's office. At the time, I was working as a coordinator for T.A.'s Brooklyn Committee. The issue at the very top of our agenda that day was safer bicycle and pedestrian access to the Manhattan Bridge. We brought a video to the meeting so DOT officials could clearly see how dangerous the on- and off-ramps of the Manhattan Bridge were for cyclists. We told DOT officials in no uncertain terms that the Manhattan Bridge was a disaster waiting to happen.Wait no longer. On Tuesday, March 29 at about 7 p.m., Noah Budnick had a disastrous crash on Sands Street in Brooklyn, just after exiting the Manhattan Bridge bike path. Though he was wearing a helmet, Budnick suffered severe head trauma. He is now in stable condition, floating in and out of consciousness in a hospital intensive care unit.Police initially said that Budnick's crash was caused by a hit-and-run driver. Now they say that he dropped into a pothole after swerving to avoid a vehicle parked in the bike lane. There are still "many questions about inconsistencies and omissions in the accident report," T.A. says.What I can say for certain is this: Despite major improvements made to the bike path on the Manhattan Bridge since our meeting two years ago, access to the bridge is still extremely dangerous, especially on the Brooklyn side.I don't need to use Noah's crash to make the point. Last summer I had the worst bike crash of my life only a few yards away from where Budnick wiped out. Riding toward a pothole, I momentarily peeked back over my shoulder to see if I could safely merge to my left. By the time my eyes were back on the road in front of me, my front wheel had dipped into a series of abrupt ripples in the asphalt. Merely a nuisance to motorists, these kinds of hazards are devastating to cyclists. In a split second, my bike and I were crumpled on the pavement directly in front of a BQE on-ramp. If a truck had been behind me, accelerating onto the expressway, I'd have been roadkill.Are Budnick and I lousy riders? I don't think so. Noah is a skilled and experienced urban cyclist, and I am pathologically careful. I ride under the assumption that drivers don't see me and, even if they do, they'd be perfectly content to kill me and keep going.All you have to do is spend some time riding a bike in cities like Berlin, London, Montreal or Portland to understand the problem. New York City is still way too hostile an environment for cycling despite the fact that in an era of increasing subway fares, air pollution, gas prices and traffic congestion, record numbers of commuters are pedaling. Let's hope Budnick gets better soon. Few have worked harder and done more to improve New York City's cycling environment.? Aaron Naparsteknaparstek@nypress.com