Northeast - Mayor Bloomberg's new Bike path

Congestion pricing's failure to launch has not deterred Mayor Mike from turning New York into a more bike friendly City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/nyregion/11broadway.html

I have always liked the European idea of placing the parking lane between the bike lane and traffic; but Mayor Mikey has gone one better! He will protect the bicyclists from traffic by luring unsuspecting midwestern and Euro tourists halfway out into broadway with cafe tables. They ought to just put a bunch of porta-potties out there since half of the wandering midtown-morons are just looking for a place to pee without buying something.

I am looking forward to the workout I can get riding a full eight blocks. Watch out naked cowboy, "buck-naked bike boy" is bearing down on ya!

Seriously, is mayor mike related to Allen Funt? This sounds like a setup for an episode of Candid Camera.

8 whole blocks in the least likely place in the entire city to ride a bike. And it dead ends in Herald Square, one of the most treacherous places to cross in any direction.

Freakin A, Mayor Mike ought to organize a critical mass ride for opening day. 10,000 people on an eight block ride that ends in a massive pile-up.

The new esplanade “will transform all of Broadway, visually and mentally” Ms. Randall said. “People will start thinking of the street differently. They’ll start thinking of it as a destination where you can watch the world go by.”

Really; if I want to watch the world go by I go to Astoria!

Maybe if we put all these pedestrians out in the middle of broadway cars won't have to plow up onto the sidewalk to hit them :eek:

Most people think this is linked to congestion pricing, I think it is an attempt at population control.

Hey Mikey, we like it!

Pretty good job by Bloomberg. Doesn't affect me though because I never go near Herald Square or Times Square, by choice. Too many people, too many tourists, and Times Square is one of the most overrated areas in the world.

Hey-It's a start, and it advertises cycling to lots of people, even if it's not the best design. I still get a lot of "I didn't know it was possible to ride a bike in NYC" from tourists. Putting cycling into their field of vision can only help. (Disclaimer: people close to me have worked on this, and I am certainly not unbiased).

I'm starting to see tourists on bikes and it not all that great. There's an outift on 42nd and the greenway, can't remember the name, that takes out groups that are all over the path. I have also noticed people on their rental bikes riding the sidewalk on 72nd St from CP to the River.

I'm seeing rental bike solicitors in Columbus Circle, too.
I'm also seeing more organized groups of bicyclists downtown, I don't
know if they're tourists or if it's a regular type once a week start the weekend
off ride.

I'm starting to see tourists on bikes and it not all that great. There's an outift on 42nd and the greenway, can't remember the name, that takes out groups that are all over the path. I have also noticed people on their rental bikes riding the sidewalk on 72nd St from CP to the River.

Tourists are lost before they get the bike. It seems that way more in NYC than anywhere.
For some reason, I can see alot of accidents and stolen bikes. Hey dad look at the bright lights. Turns around and bike is gone.

These are all good steps - we're not going to be able to have protected lanes on every block of the city but the more they do this and the more cyclists support it the less likely arguments like, "why does the city waste money on them since no one uses these things anyway" (something I hear often) become weaker and weaker.

I'm starting to see tourists on bikes and it not all that great. There's an outift on 42nd and the greenway, can't remember the name, that takes out groups that are all over the path. I have also noticed people on their rental bikes riding the sidewalk on 72nd St from CP to the River.

I ran into one of those unescorted groups earlier this week. They had gotten as far as the Engineer's Gate in Central Park, East Drive & 90th Street, but had no idea how to get back to the Greenway. Seems there was this reservoir in the way :p

If they're going to rent bikes, with these little signature handlebar bags, maybe they should include a NYC Cycling Map.

I was in Copenhagen a few weeks ago and the 'City Bikes' that are available for a 20Kr deposit but are otherwise free include a map of central Copenhagen fixed to the handlebars.

I lost my 20Kr however, as I was in a bar watching the Euro Cup soccer match and left the bike outside. They are considered fair game to be taken since they belong to no one. Bikes are everywhere there, a lot of separated bike lanes. NYC could take some notes.

Thanks for posting the link. I ride that section of Broadway on my commute and couldn't quite figure out what they were doing there besides the curbside green bike lane, which is great.

It's the bike lane to nowhere, but it's still progress.

It's the bike lane to nowhere, but it's still progress.

NYC needs the bike lanes to nowhere to feed its highways to hell.

The more cyclists on the road, the safer cycling is for everyone. The more NYC streets are re-engineered for pedestrians, cyclists, and mass transit riders--with space actively taken away from cars, the more pleasant and livable and safe the city will be for the majority of its inhabitants. This is progress worth celebrating and building on.

Wonder how long before those pedestrian spaces are take over by the areas street vendors!

With more street vendors encroaching into bike lanes, I won't have to stop to eat. I'll just grab a salty pretzel off a cart as I ride by. :D

It's the bike lane to nowhere, but it's still progress.

Actually not. There's a small bike lane that goes through at least part of Times Square and connects with Broadway Boulevard to the north. Then there's a small bollard protected bike lane that runs about a block, through Herald Square, then continues unprotected down Broadway and then hooks up with the Fifth Avenue bike lane.

I decided to try Broadway Boulevard the other night and was the only cyclist using the route. All the pedicabs rode in the two remaining lanes of traffic. For whatever reason, pedicabs decided to congregate in the Herald Square protected bike lane so I had to maneuver around the bollards, into traffic, just to pass. Sheesh! I thought these guys were supposed to be allies :rolleyes:

The pedicabs are a bit of a pain just because they're pretty slow and take up the entire lane. But I'm sure cars say the same about bikes so there always has to be someone at the bottom of the pecking order...