All but 3 percent of bicyclists who died on the city's streets in the last decade were not wearing helmets — and the city plans to hand out free head gear and consider legislation to increase helmet use, according to a city report.The bicyclist death rate held steady from 1996 to 2005 at 2.8 deaths per million residents, per year, according to the report released Tuesday by the Department of Transportation and other city agencies.The report also examined bicyclist injuries from 1996 to 2003, finding they had dropped by 46 percent in that time.The city also announced plans to create 200 miles of bicycle routes over the next three years. Three-quarters of the on-street pathways would be set apart from car traffic by a painted stripe. Another 45 miles would consist of signed routes and five miles would be vehicle-free bike paths.Of the deaths of 225 people in the last decade, only one fatal crash with a motor vehicle occurred when a bicyclist was in a marked bike lane, the report said.The additions will "complete the backbone of the city's planned bicycle network," Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall said in a release.Noah Budnick, a deputy director of the environmental group Transportation Alternatives, warned that any move by the city to mandate helmets could deter bicyclists."Anything the city does to discourage cycling and make it less convenient will make riding more dangerous," he said.About 6 percent of New York City adults commute by bicycle or foot — twice the national average.