The Department of Transportation (DOT) nearly doubled the city’s street bike lane network, completing over 200 miles of bike lane installations on July 8.
“With the completion of this initiative, we can now state firmly that New York City is the bicycling capital of the United States,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
Since 2006, 51.2 miles of bike lanes were finished in Queens, giving the borough the second-most miles of bike lanes in the city, after Brooklyn. Citywide, there are now 420 miles of street bike lanes.
According to the DOT, 20 sheltered bike-parking structures, 6,100 bike racks, guide signs, free helmets and a more than 45 percent growth in commuter cycling over the three-year span were other plan accomplishments.
Other additions include 4.9 miles of physically separated bike paths installed on Ninth Avenue in Manhattan. The path, the first of its kind in the United States, separates cyclists from traffic by placing the bike lane in between the sidewalk and parked cars, rather than between parked cars and moving traffic. The Institute of Transportation Engineers has given their “Program of the Year” award to the new design. There is a matching path going uptown on Eighth Avenue.
The DOT sought to improve safety and encourage New Yorkers to exercise by cycling when they initiated the bike lane expansion project.
“New York City is increasingly a great place for cyclists, and with today’s completion of the 200th bike-lane mile added in the past three years, there are even more opportunities for New Yorkers to commute or ride for recreation,” said NYC Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
The new routes have given the city several nods from cycling organizations and magazines, noting NYC’s more bicycle-friendly streets.
DOT has plans to double bicycle commuting from 2007 to 2015 and triple it by 2020. In addition, the agency plans to expand the bike lane system to 1,800 miles by 2030.
