Under Mayor Bloomberg's tenure, New York City has made great strides in improving its bicycle infrastructure. But as his final term comes to an end, some fear the next mayor may "end this period of bike-friendly programs and policies."
Despite widespread support for bike lanes (66 percent of New Yorkers called them a good idea; 27 percent a bad idea in a recent Times poll), and the proven value of bike commuting during recent crises, Matt Flegenheimer reports that, "[i]n the early stages of the campaign for mayor, the candidates have expressed little enthusiasm about the expansion of bike lanes, and a few have made comments that suggest they may seek to erase some of them."
"Asked about the candidates’ apparent reticence on bikes, [Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s transportation commissioner] said, 'A lot of people would like to see their numbers polling like bike lanes.'”
"And yet, cycling advocates find themselves straining to persuade any prospective successor to Mr. Bloomberg to expand upon, or even to preserve, the gains made under his watch."
FULL STORY: Anxiety Over Future of Bike Lanes
Bike Lanes As Training Wheels
A friend introduced me yesterday to rambunctious bicycling advocate Fred Oswald via a recent article out of Cleveland’s press. Much debate swirls around his not-so-uncommon opinions. Mr. Oswald’s argument can be boiled down to two points: supporting a critical need for much more bicycling education on sharing public roadways with other vehicles, and fighting an industry-borne fallacy that breaking up streets with allocated spaces, such as bike lanes, is good for the biking community. The former is, of course, not contestable. We all agree that safety and training are absolutely critical to developing a strong and healthy bicycling community.
Rise in Bikers Pushes New York Towards Cycle-Friendliness
Biking gets serious in New York, where the city is investing millions in a system of dedicated bike lanes.
New York Announces New Bike Lanes and Public Space Improvements
As part of its commitment to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, the city identified several major projects for 2023 that include protected bike lanes and public plazas.
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.
Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes
AI-generated images are creating new landscapes and cityscapes, capable of inspiring awe or fear.
A Dallas Architect Designs Statement Buildings With a Purpose
The Dallas Morning News’ architecture critic profiles one of the city’s most important current architects.
Biden Designates a New National Monument in West Texas
The Castner Range National Monument in West Texas is the second of two new national monuments announced by President Joe Biden this week.
Study: Autonomous Cars Won’t Solve the Parking Problem
In hyper-dense cities where incentives to reduce car use and eliminate parking are already high, mass adoption of AVs won’t significantly reduce parking demand.
Princeton Planning
City of College Park
Houston-Galveston Area Council
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
