Freddy Cepeda

Gotham Paper #2
Bike Lanes vs. Car Lanes in NYC
In a busy metropolis like New York City, there is always a constant concern of
safety when dealing with cars, bicycles, and other forms of transportation people use to
get around. With many people using alternatives to driving cars it is important that
proper lanes and spaces are created so people can move about safely without having to
worry about potentially being injured by vehicles. This issue is something I personally
deal with everyday due to the fact that I use a long-board to travel around the city instead
of driving a car. There has been many times where Ive seen accidents occur that
couldve been avoided if proper segregation of car and bicycle traffic was created.
Throughout history there has been a constant struggle to incorporate and keep
bike lanes in city streets throughout New York. New York City developed the first bike
path in 1894 and since then there has been an on-going fluctuation in bike lanes while car
lanes have clearly increased since the time of the first automobile. (Goodman, J. David)
Creation of car lanes was deemed more important and practical which caused bike lanes
to take a backseat in importance and creation. In the mid-20
th
century one could even see
parkway projects, created by famous road maker, Robert Moses including bike paths; but
when cars started to become more affordable and practical bicycling overall declined and
the bikeways fell into disrepair. This is why certain bridges like the Throgs Neck, Bronx-
Whitestone, and Verrazano Bridge do not have walkways for pedestrians and bicyclists
due to them being built during this surge of using cars as the main form of transport.
Bringing patterns up to present time one can see the use of bicycles and other non-
automotive forms of transport resurging even without proper lanes and areas to use them.
Now most bike lanes can be seen on major bridges due to the acts of the New York City
Department of Parks and Recreation along with the installation of hop on, hop off
vendor program most commonly known as Citi Bikes. (Giron, Will) Even with these
much needed improvements there is still a lack of significant bike lanes located on the
actual streets themselves, which is where most of the accidents and injuries occur.
With the amount of people relying on bikes and such as their main form of
transportation its hard to understand why no provisions have been made to create more.
These people who choose to ride on bike lanes can find them being categorized into three
different types: Class I Class II and Class II. Class I bike lanes are classified as lanes that
are physically separated from both vehicle and pedestrian paths, these type of lanes
usually are located in between the sidewalk and designated areas for parking. Class II
bike lanes are simply lanes marked with paint and signage located between parked cars
and traffic lanes. Finally, Class III bike lanes are shared vehicle and bike lanes usually
only marked by signs designating which way traffic of the lanes should be
heading.("Bike Lanes and Paths: A Primer | Biking Rules!" ) In New York City the
majority of bike lanes are either Class II or Class III, which are clearly the least safe type
of lanes. Even with these lanes not being of the highest standards possible people
willingly put themselves into danger in order to ride their bikes and avoid driving a car in
heavy traffic.
On any given day one can see delivery bikes carrying an assortment of items from
fast food to large packages and simultaneously weaving in and out of traffic to get to their
destination. One can also see thousands of New Yorkers commuting to their jobs at the
same time as heavy traffic since work commute hours are the highest periods of traffic.
Rarely does one see a cyclist having the opportunity to ride on these designated bike
lanes mentioned earlier due to them either being non-existent or being just as dangerous
as riding on the actual road. Approximately 20 cyclists are killed most years, usually
caused by a collision with a moving motor vehicle. This fact is especially apparent when
walking down the street and seeing a bike chained to a pole or street sign that is painted
white. The significance of this act is to display that a cyclist was killed on their bike in
that exact location; personally I have seen many of these bikes on the streets and the
number of them beginning to increase. With all these facts presented it seems rather
foolish that a person would use any other form of transportation besides driving a car, but
with expensive parking prices and the inconvenience of heavy traffic, when driving into
places like Manhattan, riding a bike becomes the best option. With this known it shocks
me to see every day how bike lane improvements are not happening. Organizations like
Transportation Alternatives work meticulously every day to create safe streets for non-
vehicle users through their vision they call complete streets. What this vision entails is
a street design that provides the safety of everyone, vehicle or not, when designing and
fixing streets. Solely building roads for cars without considering bikes and pedestrians is
no longer something that can be acceptable if streets want to become safer. It is not
important what type of transportation the person is using; everyone should have a safe
and easy way to get around streets without having to worry about putting their life in any
sort of danger.
With all these facts present it is clear that car lanes are still triumphing in the
battle for safer streets. It is no longer just cars that are used as the main form of
transportation in major cities and the people who create and control roads must recognize
this fact and adapt to it. The safety of everyone on roads, whether in a vehicle or not, is
the top priority and must be the main area of focus when creating or fixing roads. This
new found safety can only occur if bike lanes and plans to create new bike lanes come
into existence. Not only would the safety of streets rise, but deaths and accidents due to
car collisions would decrease dramatically since people wont have to share the road any
longer. I personally hope to see the city in which I ride in almost every day become safer
not only for me but for the people around me.















Works Cited
Goodman, J. David. "Expansion of Bike Lanes in City Brings Backlash." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2010. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/nyregion/23bicycle.html?_r=0>.
Giron, Will. "Bike and Roll Launches New Hop On Hop Off Bike Rental Program in
NYC. Inhabitant New York City, 22 June 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
<http://inhabitat.com/nyc/bike-and-roll-launches-new-hop-on-hop-off-bike-rental-
program-in-nyc-parks/>.
"Bike Lanes and Paths: A Primer | Biking Rules!" Bike Lanes and Paths: A Primer |
Biking Rules! Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
<http://bikingrules.org/biking/laneprimer#sthash.7U4pGncC.dpuf>.
"Bike Lanes | Transportation Alternatives." Bike Lanes | Transportation Alternatives.
Web. 2 Nov. 2014. <http://transalt.org/issues/bike/network/bikelanes>.