The League of American Bicyclists has awarded New York City a bronze medal for bicycle friendliness. League representatives met with Mayor Bloomberg and DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, who sometimes cycles to work, at City Hall yesterday to present the award. Though bronze is the lowest rung on the friendliness ladder, New York City is the only community in the region to be designated a Bike Friendly Community (BFC).
While the total number of cycling fatalities rose to 23 from 18 last year, there has also been a 75% increase in those who commute by bicycle since 2000. (The DOT is still working on an accounting of the number of cycling injuries.) In awarding the BFC status to New York, the league noted that New York has undertaken “the most thorough crash analysis of any city in the country.”
DOT, in conjunction with the Departments of Health, Parks and the Police Department completed a comprehensive analysis of all cyclist fatalities and serious injuries during the previous ten years. Amongst other conclusions, the analysis showed that cyclists were safest when they were traveling in a bike lane and wearing a helmet.
DOT has since undertaken, and is on pace to complete, a three-year effort to double the number of on-street bike lane miles. They have also begun a program to provide free official NYC bike helmets at safety education events. Thus far they have given away over 10,000 free helmets. And New York has recently built North America's first on-street bike lane that is physically separated from vehicle traffic by bollards and a lane of parked cars.
Fun fact: The League of American Bicyclists was founded in 1880 as the League of American Wheelmen; “bicyclists, known then as ‘wheelmen’, were challenged by rutted roads of gravel and dirt and faced antagonism from horsemen, wagon drivers, and pedestrians.” The 300,000 member organization works to promote bike safety and bike-friendly urban planning; their yearly summit takes place in D.C. on March 4th-6th.
Photo of West Side bike path by Seth Holladay.
