I am not a Bicycle Advocate, and I don't believe that Bikeshare is Transit. But I'm now convinced that the combination of bike share and protected bike lanes has improved mobility for a lot of people. It has worked for me when I've traveled to DC and London, and at home here in New York. The cost has been relatively low, whether measured in terms of dollars, square feet of public space, or advocacy hours.
In my experience, bikeshare is not effective for getting people out of cars and taxis and decongesting our subways and sidewalks without that network of protected lanes and quiet side streets. I am a cautious rider, and I avoid streets where it feels like drivers have too much power or speed. Rather than fear for my life I will just walk or take the subway.
A few months ago I was on Irving Place and wanted to go to Soho. I figured I'd ride the relatively quiet Eighteenth Street to the Second Avenue protected bike lane. But when I got to Third Avenue I found my way blocked by a street fair.
I turned south for a few blocks on Third Avenue. I hate riding on big avenues without a bike lane; the drivers are either speeding or frustrated or both. It was also difficult to remember which streets went which way, but I think I avoided the pattern at Stuyvesant Square that sends you back west on Fifteenth Street, and headed east on Twelfth.
I was looking forward to getting onto Second Avenue. But when I got there I found the avenue completely filled by another street fair. These were not genuine community festivals, but the generic fairs that have become the norm here in New York City. My way was blocked by tube socks and mozzarepas. There wasn't even room on the sidewalk to walk my Citibike.
I doubled back and rode down Third Avenue again. I checked again a few blocks later and I was past the fair, but that was just luck; I didn't know until I'd gone all the way down the block.
For bikeshare to serve as a true transportation option, we don't just need a bike route network , but a reliable one. If any part of it is unavailable, the whole network is compromised, and people will be less likely to rely on it.
Of course it's not just bikes; the car network is disrupted. But drivers have lots of alternate routes: a driver whose way is blocked on Second Avenue would not be terribly inconvenienced by driving on Third. But for me, with Second Avenue blocked the nearest protected southbound avenue is Ninth Avenue/Hudson Street/Bleecker Street, meaning I would have to bike clear across the island and back.
This is also an issue for pedestrians. Walking a long city block out of the way is not always practical, leaving those of us trying to get somewhere mixing with the zeppole eaters.
As many have said, we need to reform these street fairs. We also need to convert more car lanes to bike lanes on the avenues. But in addition, we need to preserve some bike access through street fairs. If they can have fairs on sixty foot cross streets like Eighteenth, they can leave twelve feet of space on a 75-foot avenue like Second.
At a minimum, we should have some notification system for when the bike lane network is disrupted, whether by street fairs, construction or something else. A tweet on the Citibike feed would help.
Get rid of street fairs. Problem solved. But I agree that bike lanes should not be blocked unless they absolutely have to, like for emergency construction. And if they are blocked, a temporary path should be created, such as using fencing to make a temporary lane from cars.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of street fairs. Problem solved. But I agree that bike lanes should not be blocked unless they absolutely have to, like for emergency construction. And if they are blocked, a temporary path should be created, such as using fencing to make a temporary lane from cars.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a fan of street fairs, but recently, with my elderly parents, they found it so much more relaxing walking in the middle of the street during a street fair instead of on the sidewalks with their short blocks and car-filled crossings. They, and I, just breathed so much easier. For people often stuck in their apartment, it was a real event for them.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I agree wholeheartedly about keeping the bike lanes open. In Montreal a few years ago, a bicycling paradise, I was stunned to see the JazzFest close down the major cross-town protected bike lane on St. Catherines Street. Finding my way around it took a long time.
Genius insight into the multiple simultaneous street fair problem.
ReplyDeleteBut Captn Transit, only one article since June? I am Jonesin for transit information and insight. How about talking about that BQX streetcar? I want your solution for keeping the industrial uses intact, and not having every building get converted to housing or self-storage.
Why isn't there a more detailed map of where it would go? Are they still planning it?
Captn Transit, you're my hero. Get to work.
I'm very flattered, Catherine! I haven't written more about the BQX because I just don't see it as being very important compared to, say, the Tribororx or the Rockaway Branch.
ReplyDelete"Keeping industrial zones intact" sounds good, but as I wrote last year, in practice these zones are very problematic:
http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2015/07/do-new-yorks-manufacturing-zones.html