Image Credit: New York City Department of Transportation
On May 22, 2023, the New York City Department of Transportation announced the first of six self-guided cycling routes to encourage cycling throughout the City ahead of the upcoming summer months. The Department’s stated goal for the routes is to promote cycling as a fun, fast, and healthy way to travel.
The first route was published in conjunction with the non-profit organizations WE Bike: Women’s Empowerment Through Bicycles and the Young Professionals in Transportation’s New York City chapter. May’s Manhattan route, which can be found here, begins at Union Square and E 15 Street, passing through Broadway and W 26 Street, 8th Avenue and W 33 Street, and finally finishing at 9th Avenue and W 17 Street, totally 3.4 miles. The route highlights the City’s new installments to better serve pedestrians, like Better Barriers, that feature curb-height blocks and speed bumps to prevent cars from coming into bike lanes, and double bike lanes on certain city streets.
The Department of Transportation plans to publish five more self-guided routes until October’s “Biketober.” These routes will have different themes, including LGBTQ+ landmarks in June for Pride Month. The newly published routes come at a time when New York City is experiencing record cycling trips: on an average week-day, more than 24,000 trips were recorded over East River bridges and over 38,000 cycling trips were counted during an average 12-hour window across Manhattan avenues.
“These self-guided routes will promote positive well-being for cyclists across the City, showcasing the excitement of our streets and the joy of our city from the seat of a bicycle. I encourage all New Yorkers to get on their bikes and give them a try!” Ydanis Rodriguez, the New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner said of the newly developed routes.
“We have seen first-hand the direct impacts these improvements [to safe, accessible cycling infrastructure] have in increasing equitable access to transportation for historically marginalized groups and communities,” Casey Ashenhurst, President of WE Bike NYC praised the new efforts. “The City has made tremendous progress in introducing innovative cycling infrastructure, and we look forward to continuing the work with [the Department of Transportation].”
By: Vanessa Cameron (Vanessa is a CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2024.)