At Weelz, you know, we like to go and see what is happening elsewhere in the world for cycling. Of course, we are sometimes a little too dano-centered. No, not all great cycling ideas come from Copenhagen. Americans may not have much to teach us about cycling. But this is precisely what makes the subject so attractive: how does such a self-centered country manage to transform itself, little by little – “one pedal at a time“? Even in the land of the big car, mentalities are evolving towards ever more cycling.
“Bridges for the people”
The proof with the city of New York, which, brace yourself, intends to definitively reserve a car lane for New York cyclists, on two emblematic bridges of the city, the Queensboro and the no less famous Brooklyn Bridge. “Bridges for the People“is the name of the cycling plan presented by Mayor Bill de Blasio last month to facilitate the crossing of the East River. It is a new step forward for cycling, after the Municipality of the Big Apple unveiled in 2019 a bicycle budget of 1.7 billion dollars (yes, billion) to “break the culture of the car”.
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According to figures from this DOT study (the Department of Transport of the city), New York is the city in which the number of cyclists has grown the fastest. Between 2012 and 2017, commuting by bicycle jumped by more than 50%. Even in cities say “bike friendly“in the United States like Portland or Chicago, this increase is only 22%. There is no doubt that this increase continued in 2020, with the epidemic situation.
A decade of bicycle lobbying
On the lower apron, cars have the right to a 2×2 lane.
“it’s a small cycling revolution happening in this city”
“Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.“us said the wise Isaac Newton. Let us remember this expression from Canadian town planner Brent Toderian: “You don’t build a bridge by counting the number of people swimming across the river“. Here in New York, bridges have long existed to connect the island of Manhattan over the Hudson or the East River. Nevertheless, they have always been designed only for automobile use, it is is therefore a small cycling revolution happening in this city.
Thus, while cities like Nantes prefer not to prolong experiences of closure to traffic (Le pont Saint-Mihiel crystallizes tensions in the capital of the Dukes of Brittany. A petition is online.), it is in New York that we will dedicate 100% of a car lane to cyclists, on the Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges. A decision that follows a petition, also called “Bridges for the People“, launched in September 2020, but which is the result of a decade of lobbying by the pro-bike collective Transportation Alternatives.
On the Brooklyn Bridge, dating from 1883, cyclists today have to be content with a very narrow two-way on the upper part of the bridge. A cycle lane made dangerous (lived) because of the mixture with pedestrians, on a historical monument whose attraction brings hordes of tourists who came to immortalize a selfie on Instagram (probably a little less at the moment). Tomorrow, cyclists will be able to ride below pedestrians, on a dedicated 8-foot (approximately 2.40m) lane, protected from motorists by a concrete parapet as shown in the diagram.
As for the Queensboro bridge (1909), already bordered by a cable car line to Roosevelt Island, the north motorway should see a two-way cycle path, pedestrians will have the right to a dedicated lane on the southern part. Scheduled second opening by the end of the year.
“Converting car lanes to bike lanes on two of our most important bridges is a giant leap for New York City.“According to Danny Harris, the president of Transportation Alternatives. As for Mayor De Blasio, he said”that it was time to bring the two bridges into the 21st century and embrace the vision of a car-free future.“.
➡️ Via le NYTimes.
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