sidewalk smash up

A sad, yet common, sight... evidence of why not to lock up on the outside of a street pole.

Stumbled upon this bike in SoHo but it happened to a co-worker last month in front of our office by a UPS truck. Its pretty safe to say that it is worth going out of your way to always park on the inside (sidewalk side) of poles.

one fall day: bikes in SoHo

Yesterday was one beautifully perfect crisp fall day -- a few snap shots while on my lunch break...

nice waterproof Amsterdam-stylin' panniers

love seeing a personal touch on this Kryptonite NY Chain cover

a Nantucket (pet) Bike Basket which they attached in reverse -- I'm guessing so they can easily hinge it open while on the bike rather then getting in front of the bike.

Also, couldn't resist these two wheelers...

... a single glove left behind

via Turin: think fast

With so many cities jumping on the biking bandwagon, it is always fun to see ways they are going about promoting cycling. While I didn't get a chance to visit Torin while in Italy last month, reader Simone Gallina sent over a snap shot (and video!) of one of the city's newest Metro stations and bike paths. Just so happens that in this instance the bike path leads STRAIGHT into the escalators leading down into the Metro! While this is not to say that all the bike paths in Torin require cyclists to think fast - hopefully this one will be remedied soon...

Grazie, Simone!

via Florence: sites + cycles

Piazza del Duomo

the car free Via Dei Calzaiuoli

along the Mura di Firenze - the ancient defensive walls of the city

next to the Uffizi, facing the Arno

bike path along the Arno

I have finally gotten around to tackling (umm, organizing) my photos taken in Italy last month. So, Florence, compared to fast-pace scooter-centric Rome, is a serene bicycle-mania city. It was impressive how much cycle-chic-watching could be done right in the cultural heart of the city in the Piazza Di San Giovanni, adjacent from the Duomo! Mind you this was February - so I can only imagine what it's like when the temperature is higher then 50°F/10°C. Aside from the large number of college (exchange) students in the city core, like in many European cities, there is great diversity among the ages of bicyclists. So refreshing to see!

Another remarkable thing about Florence is its progressive and young (born in 1975) Mayor, Matteo Renzi. Soon after taking office in 2009, Mayor Renzi transformed one of the most famous squares in Italy, the Piazza del Duomo, by closing it off to motorized traffic making it 100% pedestrian and bike-friendly. The last century of smog did leave a lasting impression -- the blacked facades are still totally visible on the Baptistery and Cathedral and have yet to be fully cleaned/restore. Mayor Renzi has a lot more wonderful plans for the city including many new bike lanes, more restricted traffic zones, making the city center easier for mothers and pregnant women, and is considering allowing only electric cars into the city center! If you are fluent in Italian, you can read his 100 pledges, check out his website, and social network via his Twitter and Facebook.

these two images are from flickr 
of Mayor Renzi (in the blue blazer) touring the city by bike

'Bikelash' hits the newstands

this week's New York Magazine cover

Read about the "newest urban culture war" sensation: BIKE LANES
... in this week's New York Magazine article {link} written by Matthew Shae.

Nicely titled 'Not Quite Copenhagen' sums up the host of issues surrounding one touchy topic in NYC well before the Bedford Avenue lanes were laid down (and then removed). From business associations lobbing against them back in the 80's -- to the reality that bike lanes calm traffic making streets safer while infuriating drivers who don't want to be slowed down. A conclusion the writer comes to is noteworthy:

The DOT can put in bike lanes by the thousands, but the more important transformation will be internal: We are going to have to learn to accept a decrease, however minuscule, in our individual freedoms. For bike lanes to really work, New Yorkers are going to have to learn to share.

Sharing can mean a lot of things. It can mean stopping a red light. Signaling when making a turn. Giving pedestrians the right of way. Using a rear and front light at dawn, dusk and night. Staying to the right hand side. Passing on the left. Using a bike bell. Ahh, I know - know it is not fair to compare one city with the next, but having cycled in Copenhagen, these behaviors are second nature and they are doing one fine job keeping their bike lanes. Sure NYC has a huge learning curve ahead, but I have to say that as of late I haven't been the only one waiting for the street light to turn green -- and it feels great.

PPW bike lane being threatened w/ lawsuit

Do all good things really need to come to an end?
Is this happening elsewhere?

image from the NYTimes

The NYTimes published this article today about a civil suit being filed against the city to have the Department of Transportation remove the (less then one year old) Prospect Park West bike lane. The suit is backed by a small group of well connected people "with close ties to Iris Weinshall, the city’s transportation commissioner from 2000 to 2007 and the wife of Senator Charles E. Schumer". They argue that statistics of the benefits from the path are skewed in favor of pro-bike path community activists.  Sure, statistics can be tricky and difficult to distinguish from a grey lies but COME ON. I'd really like to know the if the opponents have:

• ever tried biking along 8th Avenue during rush hour - the alternative to the PPW path going north
• noticed the traffic Prospect Park West traffic flowing just fine -- amidst one less lane
• experienced Prospect Park West as a terrifying mess with speeding car, taxis, and Fresh Direct delivery trucks BEFORE the bike lanes were there
• notice how much calmer the traffic is with one less lane
• watched cyclists yield for pedestrians (though I do admit there is a learning curve, which seems natural)
• realized that many cyclists use the bike path daily - even in the heart of winter
• seen local parents bike their children to school using the path
• that a few less parking spots lost does not justify the removal of a world class protected bike lane in the heart of Brooklyn

Well, I have.

Prospect Park West, which was once impossible to bike along, runs along the corridor which one must crossed to enter the park from the residential Park Slope neighborhood. A protected two-way bike lane running along a park sounds completely reasonable if not completely necessary. If you also agree PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help save a vital NYC bike path by attending Community Board 6's Public Hearing on Safety Improvements to Prospect Park West

When: Thursday, March 10 @ 6:30PM
Where: John Jay Educational Campus Auditorium
237 7th Avenue, between 4th/5th Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Previous posts:
Save Prospect Park West,  19, October 2010
Rally to keep the lanes, 28, October 2010

via Florence: parking space

It was so refreshing to find ample bike parking in Florence since bicycle corrals are every which way you look. Another thing that struck me in this beautiful Tuscan city is that rather then locking the rear wheel and leaning it against a building (like in Copenhagen)  bicycles would line the curb and be kept upright by having the pedal like so along the narrow sidewalks and streets in center city...

Kind of can't believe I got used to riding on these stone slab streets which make for a bumpy ride - funny to think that we New Yorkers complain about having to deal with pot holes.

DOT + MTA's bikable ads

On my way over the Manhattan Bridge last Thursday morning I encountered this gaggle of cyclists gathering together outfitted with bikes + mini billboards (on nice little trailers). Turns out the DOT and MTA teamed up and hired this media company to bring their message to the streets.

Cute campaign but it leaves me wondering if motorists paid attention and read the signs - since as a cyclist in NYC more often then not I feel invisible. I think the billboards would be super great if they were targeting pedestrians with slogans like:

COST ANALYSIS:
I saved $89 in subway fare biking to work this month / $1,068 this year

-- though you wouldn't find the MTA helping to fund that one.

love a fresh coat

While I may hate the smell of paint in the morning - it was a pretty site to see on Prince Street in SoHo where the DOT just laid down a fresh coat of green paint. While protected bike lanes are my most preferred lanes, NYC DOT's use of bright green paint does put a smile on my face. I'll take any enhancement to increase awareness to sharing our city streets.

Just love what the difference a coat of paint can make - beautified park benches on 3rd Avenue near Atlantic in Brooklyn...
...perhaps a project by Public Color or NYCares

the rally

image via the NYTimes

That's right. In New York City you have to rally to keep bikes lanes!

It was one week ago when the early-morning rally to SAVE Prospect Park West's two-way protected bike lanes took place. The event garnered a lot of media attention and with camera crews/photographers abound it didn't occur to me at the time to take pictures myself and therefore only have the image above to share. The turn out of supporters was really great -- the NYTimes reported 150-200 came to support keeping the bike lane and that 50-70 came to protest it. (This estimate may be low since it took place from 8am-9am which is prime work commute time and many people stopped by in support but seemingly had to leave just as we encountered the group of protesters.) The thought that people would oppose the following effects that the new street design which removed one lane of car traffic in just a few months (illustrated below by StreetFilms.org) baffles me:
IRONICALLY - and I'm not sure how many people heard about this - but DURING the rally there was a terrible car accident around the corner at the intersection of Grand Army Plaza and Flatbush caused by none other then A SPEEDING CAR. The accident sent seven people to the hospital. Terribly sad.

While the saga of the little protected bike lane along Prospect Park West continues... the dreamer in me can't help but picture the day the issue being but to rest. Just imagine everyone respecting for each others safety and following the DOT's advice:


Those bright green (temporary foam core-backed) signs above were placed along Prospect Park West earlier this month in anticipation of thousands of people coming to the park due to a big event. They were are all up for just that one weekend. But due to the education needed to reform people's habits -- perhaps the DOT should make more (more permanent) signs!

Also, if you are a New Yorker take a few minutes and voice your opinion on the Prospect Park West bike lane in THIS SURVEY organized by Brooklyn Community Board , Councilmembers Brad Lander and Councilmember Stephen Levin.

SAVE Prospect Park West

i ♥ traffic calming

Grand Army Plaza, at the North end of Prospect Park West, a white grid was laid down along with reflective posts at the busy intersection where bike lanes, cross walks and traffic lights converge

two (no longer three) vehicle lanes
-- on a road that in the past 5 years I've lived in Park Slope never seemed to need three

still at the early phase last June -- just after the green paint was laid down

The four-month-old two-way protected bike lane along the eastern edge of Prospect Park in Brooklyn was a dream come true for this cyclist. What used to be a three lane high-speed corridor (which I wouldn't dare bike along) was transformed last June by the DOT into a calmer two lane road with a two-way Copenhagen-style protected bike path (separated from traffic by the parking lane). As a Park Sloper, I immediately integrated this 1 mile stretch into daily commute and it has enabled me to ride from my home into Manhattan almost exclusively using bike lanes! Pretty remarkable. It immediately become my pride and joy -- I seriously make it a point to show off Prospect Park West to out of town guests as an example of how livable and bike-friendly Brooklyn is. Streetfilms created this video "The Taming and Reclaiming of Prospect Park West" about this incredible transformation...

Excited?! Well, HOLD UP.
The new and improved Prospect Park West has grown to become one controversial topic.

Believe it.

A quick recap: The Brooklyn Paper reported that "drivers and other locals say the lane is ugly, has exacerbated traffic, reduced parking, and increased the danger for pedestrians who must dodge cyclists traveling in both directions." Meanwhile a before and after speed survey has recorded that by erasing one lane of car traffic, the new design has:

• reduced average speeds by 25%
• increased compliance with the speed limit five-fold
• reduced the proportion of cars speeding 40 mph or faster from 30% to just 1.4%

While there may be some growing pains there is no reason to abandon such a great step forward. If you are PRO keeping Prospect Park West in its enhanced state/magnificent glory:

COME OUT + JOIN a Bike/Walk to

SUPPORT THE NEW PROSPECT PARK WEST

8am THIS Thursday, October 21st (tomorrow)
Meeting @ Grand Army Plaza

Bring a sign + RSVP [here]

Coordinated by Transportation Alternatives

encountering @ Pulaski Bridge

I treasure the experience of unexpectedly encountering art. While biking over the Pulaski Bridge - which connects Long Island City, Queens to Greenpoint, Brooklyn over Newtown Creek - I couldn't take my eyes off “The Bridge that Binds”. These torsos were stenciled along the bridge's waist high concrete barrier by Joel Voisard were sponsored by the DOT's Urban Art Program. As the city is constantly in a state of change, this piece is only scheduled to be up for 11 months -- which would make October (next month) the last month. I really like how the stencils came to live during the NYC Marathon...

In the same vein, Taschen just released Trespass. A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art documenting this global phenomenon of graffiti and urban art...