Good news: New York City’s bike sharing program is expanding into Upper Manhattan and other areas. Bad news: Some of those areas uptown don’t have adequate bike lanes yet. Local residents and cycling advocates are hoping to change that reports the Columbia Spectator.
“In the Upper West Side, there’s a safe streets network on Columbus Avenue going south, but there’s nothing going north,” said Transportation Alternatives member Thomas DeVito. “There’s going to be a lot more cyclists out there now, and they’re only gonna be able to come south.” Although it’s not ideal, technically they could ride in the street like cyclists have been doing for decades.
When Citi Bike first launched in Lower Manhattan, there was already lots of bike lanes in place so the rollout went rather smoothly. Still, some residents aren’t too concerned and say that people will have to suck it up a little.
“If we don’t have protected bike lanes, we’re just going to have to deal with it,” said cyclist, down to earth person, and Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District member George Beane.
(Photo: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)
