From this morning's Times.

236,000 cyclists? Dang, that's a lot, but keep it up NYC!! nice!

Hell, I think there are 36,000 Freds in Nyack on nice Sunday afternoons alone.

I commuted by bike a few years ago... took the next year off... and started back up last summer (yes, still riding now) - I was shocked at the difference from two years previous. SO many more bike lanes or, at the very least, more bike lanes where they counted. And yeah - a lot more fellow riders than previously, too. While I sometimes get a little impatient picking my way through more cyclists, it seems that the increased numbers have improved driver awareness, too - it seems like I've run in to fewer oblivious and/or aggressive drivers than before.

All that being said, it's funny (not 'ha-ha' funny) how some automobile commuters view the bike lanes - most of my co-worker's commute by car at least a couple times per week, and they've been *****ing about the bike- and ped-friendly changes (in Manhattan) to no end.

NYC should be a bike place. It was designed for horses and carriages. Driving cars there sucks bigtime.

Bet the number of bike commuters will increase exponentially with a bike lane on Queens Blvd and extend the existing one on Greenpoint Ave.

28% increase over last year . . . that's the staggering number.

On the other hand riding a motorcycle in Manhattan is like an X-Box game.

imo it was the transit strike that got the ball rolling.

The article says there seems to be direct correlation between new bike lanes and the increase in cyclists.

Yeah, I can see how that would have a huge impact - the same street is a lot less hair-raising with a bike lane than without. Also an indication - there are certainly a lot more of the... leisurely set rollin' to work these days. The grit-your-teeth-pedal-like-mad-and-hope-for-the-best mentality is a little less necessary, now.

The City, keeps adding bike lanes which is great.

That is impressive.

Not to downplay the advances in cycling, but besides bike lanes I what other things had an effect on the upsurge in cycling. It would be interesting to do a comprehensive survey of commuters to see what tipped the balance for them; see if the advances in rideshare services, gas prices, parking, traffic, and/or just plain old peer influence had much, if any, effect.

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What percentage are Freds?

What are these "bike lanes" that you speak of?

Additional parking spots for delivery trucks, etc

This is typical. Imagine an entire commute like this, without a bike lane -



Throw in the double-parked cars, sanitation trucks, etc, etc - it gets pretty tight.

I've definitely noticed an increase because I find myself saying "ON YOUR LEFT" much more often than before.



This is great news because Grumpy hit it right on the head in regards to driving around in the city, and even 20 years ago it was a pain which was before they made parking in the city even more inconvenient. I had a car when I lived in NYC but most of the miles I put on it were getting out of the city to parks/beaches. From the time I first started riding in the city to now, it has become significantly more convenient to travel by bike through the city; I used to do tip to tip laps around Manhattan and most of the ride through the Westside were through the avenues since the waterfront had poorly paved roads. Now there's the Greenway which is car free and I use every day when I commute to work.

20 years ago is also when I was driving there.

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Advance bike lights are key IMHO, saw very few intersection issues when visiting there.

What does everyone do with said bikes upon reaching the destination?

lock them up with a chain that weighs more than the bike.

I think these kinds of improvements will get even more people out riding because there is the added safety factor with the lights and the physical barriers between vehicular and bicycle traffic. I'm old school in the riding sense so when I do ride the main avenues I'm still filtering in between cars trying to keep pace but one of these days I'll give those lanes a try but just looks too slow for my liking.

It depends so it can either be locking it up on the street, keeping it in a bicycle storage room in the building you work in, or in your office which I'm fortunate enough to have.

I have indoor parking

They recently added a contra-flow bike lane here in DC that is protected by parked cars, and you are supposed to cross intersections with the pedestrian lights. But the timing on those lights is for cars, which makes it terrible for bikes...seems like I'm stopping at every intersection. Add in all the bike salmon and I find myself just going one block over and riding on a regular street. But it feels safer, and that gets more people on their bikes.