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Bicycling Magazine Ranks NYC Most Bike-Friendly City In U.S

Bicycling Magazine Ranks NYC Most Bike-Friendly City In U.S. « CBS New York

Wow! I'm sure there are some "politics" involved in scoring this rating, but it's a nice feather in our cap.

I've said time and time again that the New York area -- not just the city, but LI, Westchester, and Upstate -- has really improved its bicycle friendliness and dedication to bicycle trails and on-street lanes in the past decade. I'm really enjoying exploring all the new bikeway options available, and I am very grateful for the simple painted bike route I ride to work almost every day.

Congratulations to us, and be sure to reward the elected officials who made it happen.

"Suffolk County on Long Island was ranked worst for cyclists. The magazine said the county consistently ranks among the most dangerous places in the entire country to ride a bike."

Oops! Never mind.

I used to be a paperboy out on Long Island, a Newsday "Ace," carrier... I don't miss Sundays!

Suffolk County is downright demonic for cycling...

It doesn't surprise me. I've been to "bike friendly" Seattle recently, and I didn't find it so bike friendly compared to NYC.

After spending 5 months back in the West Coast (Portland and Bay Area) it will definitely be a shock coming back to NYC. Hopefully Bicycling Magazine's article helps create more change out East.

i can count on one hand how many times i've ridden in Suffolk, other than just passing through on a route, but i can say that i definitely see more car accidents in Suffolk County than Nassau County. kinda strange though, cause i've been riding in Nassau County for 9 years and find it pretty good and relatively safe...

Putting NYC in first place confuses me. I've never ridden a bike in New York City, but I been there on vacation several times and love the place. Having said that, I'd be a little nervous to ride a bicycle there with all those crazy cab drivers everywhere.

I'm not bashing NYC because as I've said, I really like it there. I just don't get how it can be called the most bicycle friendly of any city in US.

The fair weather cyclists are more dangerous then the cab drivers.

Really?? Which one would you rather collide with?

The idea is to eliminate collisions all together.

Indeed. From the Bicycling article:

I read this as Bicycling Magazine's attempt at a bit of advocacy, by nudging the city to keep up the momentum begun under the last mayor to promote cycling. Indeed, the new Transportation Commissioner used the occasion for a PR op. It's all talk of course, but I guess they hope that this bit of publicity will push the somewhat equivocal new mayor to keep the progress going.

When you consider the Greenway routes & Park's infrastructure it makes sense...You can almost circumnavigate Manhattan...The East Side still needs work getting around the UN area, but the West Side is a clear shot from Dyckman to The Battery. Brooklyn is littered with bikeway but it isn't roadie territory because of the many lights...I've mentioned in other posts here as well that starting in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx is 50 miles of dedicated (The exception being a small gap where you have to ride the WIDE shoulder on RT 100 for 3~ miles) paved bike path heading North out of the Bronx through Westchester and ending in Carmel NY.


The street riding can be hairy regardless of the bike lane demarcations. If anything pedestrians are moving hazards as well. People constantly and aimlessly step into the bike lanes...Nevertheless there are relatively safe ways to get across town and too/from the major parks, etc..

Thanks for the clarification. The next time we visit NYC, maybe my wife and I should venture out from the touristy areas and landmarks that she (OK, and I) love so much. I wish I knew the city the way you apparently do because it must be a real experience traversing it by bicycle.

Just use google maps...click the "Bicycling" option and all the bike paths show up...The mostly uninterrupted riding is up and down the West Side Greenway/Path if you're going to be Manhattan based... Be sure and head over the Brooklyn Bridge great views, etc.. Getting up to the Bronx and riding the South & North Trailway and the Putnam Trailway is a bit of a commitment though...Nevertheless it's a great long & easy ride and the Croton Reservoir Area is beautiful.

You have the Taconic confused with Rt. 100, on which the NCT uses the shoulder on and off for about 2-1/2 miles.

SB

I'm actually surprised by this. Suffolk has a great deal more quiet and relatively traffic free roads then Nassau, being a much larger county with about the same population, which would make you think it's safer to ride.

Then I read yet another Newsday article yesterday of a cyclist killed in Suffolk. It happened at 10:15 in the evening and it would not surprise me if the cyclist had no lights and was riding against traffic, which is seemingly the norm for any cyclist hit riding after dusk. This seemingly happens much more often in Suffolk then Nassau and I've no understanding as to why.

But as well, there have been 3 or 4 instances in the past 2 years or so, where a cyclist was killed in daylight, riding on the shoulder, and who have been so-called experienced cycling "enthusiasts" and were simple run over by an inattentive motorist.

I think it's the combination of all these accidents that made the statistics "pop-out" as it where and I actually think there are far more accidents in NYC where cyclists get killed then in the suburbs. I think NYC got it's "#1" rating due to the efforts to get bike lanes and paths installed, as well as the CitiBike program, not because it's statistically safer to ride there, which it's not.

Kind of awarding the Nobel Peace prizes to Arafat and Obama? :rolleyes:

I bet a lot of the "cyclists" in Suffolk are people that use it as daily transportation and simply can't afford a car. They ride, as already stated", in the dark with no lights, against traffic and with no helmet. That certainly contributes to the risk.

My bust, they run sorta parallel...that would be correct!

The Greenways on the shorelines of Manhattan have already been mentioned. While they are good, they also feel very remote. For my money, the best riding in Manhattan is on the avenues.

Several avenues have bike lanes for much of their length: 1st, 6th, and 8th/Central Park West going uptown (CPW is two-way, but has a bike lane only going uptown); and 2nd and Columbus/9th going downtown. (Though 2nd Ave. should be avoided between about 100th St. and about 60th St., as the construction of the new subway line removes the bike lane and makes the street very narrow.) And north of Central Park there's the two-way St. Nicholas Ave.

And a couple of avenues are very good to ride on despite the lack of bike lanes. I particularly like Madison Ave. going uptown and 5th Ave. going downtown (which does eventually pick up a bike lane for the last few blocks of its run).

Most spectacular of all is Riverside Drive. If you get on it at 165th St. near Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, you can enjoy a delightful right down to its end at 72nd St. The lights are far apart, and the entire run has a noticable downhill grade. (The street is two-way; but I ride it only southbound.)

So, while I'm glad the Greenways are there, I think that a cyclist cannot really get the feel of the City on them. If you want to do real New York riding, you gotta be in the streets.

You gotta have a little mustard for that though ya know? I went blasting down Westchester Ave, Southern Blvd & Bruckner Blvd to get to the triboro yesterday... I got cut off at least 3 times, locked up my brakes once...Then finally got to CP and was doing a lap, as I was heading up the East Side Flats at about 24-25mph some clown on a skateboard with earbuds decided to suddenly veer to the left right into me (didn't look...) because a car honked...I tried to avoid, he caught my front tire, was grinding up against it, and I shoved him over into the street and luckily I didn't wreck... Street riding is definitely not for everyone.