Widely available, secure bike parking can go a long way toward encouraging cycling and keeping New Yorkers safe, a new report says.
A report from Transportation Alternatives blasts the de Blasio administration for failing to meet its bike parking goals for New York City. Gersh Kuntzman, writing for Streetsblog NYC, reveals that the city failed to deliver on many of its plans to improve bicycle parking and vastly underperformed in all aspects of its bike parking promises. As more New Yorkers choose bicycles in what amounts to a "historic cycling boom," the lack of adequate bike parking has led to a 27% increase in bike theft, and, the report argues, an overall drop in cycling.
According to Transportation Alternatives, the lack of secure parking also undermines local businesses. In a 2010 study on spending done by cyclists, the space taken up by one car generated more than three times as much local spending when converted to bike parking. In that study, "even when the bike parking was less than 30 percent occupied, it still generated the same spending as the missing car spaces."
The report's recommendations include—most obviously—building more bike parking with a focus in low-income communities, more bike corrals at intersections (where they provide more visibility than parked cars), allowing developers to build bike parking to meet parking requirements in new buildings, and promoting more public and private options for paid secured bike parking, which can help raise revenue and provide safe parking for cyclists.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
How California Transit Agencies are Addressing Rider Harassment
Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
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