I Bike NY

It’s actually safer to bike in New York than in most other American cities.  

Most people believe that it its much more dangerous to bike in New York than in other parts of the country, but after reading my friend’s article about biking in Chattanooga, I’m no longer convinced.  True our traffic is horrendous, our drivers are aggressive, and the streets are teeming with oblivious pedestrians, but there are several reasons why its actually safer to bike here in New York.

1.  Speed Kills 

The city-wide speed limit is 30 MPH when not otherwise posted, which is lower than in many car-dependent urban/suburban neighborhoods in this country. Though a recent Transportation Alternatives study shows that this limit is often broken, I don’t think speeding is a condition unique to New York.  I’d much rather take my chances with a New York driver going 45 in a 30, than a Charlotte driver going 60 in a 45.

2. Pedestrians are everywhere

Have you ever walked anywhere in Miami?  Of course you haven’t, why would you? I have, and there is nobody around.  No sidewalks and no pedestrians.  I had to run up to a car stopped at a light to ask directions.  The fact that our streets and sidewalks actually have people on them is the reason speeding isn’t even a worse problem. Granted, our cabbies drive like maniacs, but nobody actually wants to run someone over.  And to avoid mowing down a Tucson Tourist in a turquoise t-shirt,  cabs have to reduce their speeds, especially at intersections.  While jay-walking pedestrians are extremely irritating to cyclists, the vast numbers of peds is one of the biggest reasons we are safer here.  Cars don’t really rule the road, they are used to yielding and waiting, not barreling down empty streets.   

3. When traffic is at its worst, cycling can be at its best.

It’s hard to get hit by a car that is not moving.  Last summer I had some Jersey Jerk in a SUV nearly hit me, then make fun of me for riding a bike. Two blocks later, I breezed past him, gave him the finger, and left him stuck in gridlock.  While there are dangers such as opening doors, jay-walkers, or other cyclists, the best part about heavy traffic is not being able to be hit by a moving 2-ton vehicle.  

4. The Grid is Great.

An abundance of one-way streets and a predictable grid make it a safer place for cycling.  Most of the intersections are easy to quickly understand and navigate, and the “no right turn” policy limits conflict.  Even better that the few odd intersections caused by Broadway crossings are receiving special treatment to make them even safer.

5. Bright Lights Shining

I’ll take biking in NYC over biking on the median of a winding country road any day of the week, and especially at night.  Most streets are extremely well lit at night, and provide excellent visibility for both cyclist and motorist.  While the light pollution may limit our ability to see the stars, it makes New York a great place for night riding (bike lights required by law).

6. Bike markings are everywhere.

The expanding network of lanes, along with pavement markings, and guide signs, are forcing the motorist to understand that they must share the road.  Other cities have programs for installing bike lanes, but the ambitious 200-miles of lanes in 3 years is unprecedented in its scale.

So that’s it.  I made an effort to try to pull some statistics to back up my hypothesis, but it is extremely difficult to find bike accident data by city. Most of the numbers are aggregated to state levels, and bike accidents tend to be underreported anyway. Using bike fatalities alone is a very weak indicator because of the variability of deaths from year to year.  Moreover, the amount of actual bike rider-ship is very difficult to find, as bike commuting is lumped with walking in the US American Community Survey.  

But despite those disclaimers, I do have two down and dirty numbers:

1.  The rate of bicycle fatalities in New York City (2.8 per 1M) is similar to the national rate (2.7 per 1M), even though we have almost four times as many people that bike or walk to work (11% in NYC vs 3% in US).  This claim comes from a 2005 City report on bike fatalaties and injuries.  

2. Commuter cycling increased 35% from 2007 to 2008 and doubled over the last six years, yet the fatality rate has remained within the same range. There were 22 bicycle deaths in 2002 and 23 in 2007.  In August 2002, there were 3,265 bikers crossing the East River Bridges or riding the Staten Island Ferry.  In August 2007, there were 7,005. The more people that cycle, the safer it gets for everybody.

 

Filed under: Why bike?