Paradise by the Traffic Cone Light

Amanda Hickman

Paradise by the Traffic Cone Light

It is no secret that the strike was heaven for regular cyclists: never, since I started commuting by bicycle one fateful day six years ago[1] have I felt so relaxed riding down Broadway.

I finally saw a short excerpt of Congested Streets, which includes some great footage of bicycle traffic and pedestrain thoroughfares in Copenhagen, and was reminded that it is possible for a city to kick the car habit. (you can watch the excerpt yourself) Though Copenhagen summers are cooler than NYC's, but their winter lasts a wee bit longer and dips a wee bit lower, on average, I think it is a fair comparison.

What I have pieced together riding in the strike stalled city these last few days is that, once again, it all comes down to parking. Down Second Avenue, up Lafayette, down Broadway, up Sixth Avenue, it took one lane of parked cars (gone) and a dozen traffic cones per block (added) to make a real bike lane, separated from traffic and flying car doors, with enough room to maneuver around potholes, delivery trucks and cabs loading and unloading passengers. It turns out that the needle in our vein is just free curbside parking.

The city can't quite get it together to enforce the car free bike lanes--a double parked cop forced me and a half dozen other bikers out into traffic on Second Avenue last night, and whole blocks of Broadway seem to have either paid off the cops or just thumbed their nose at the barricades and reclaimed their parking spots, but for some stretches cyclists really do have room to ride. I like to think that regular cyclists are going to revolt when the strike is over and demand that the cones be replaced with permanent bollards.

Before New York City can begin to look anything like Copenhagen, average New Yorkers have to feel safe riding their bikes. And the DOT, despite their best efforts to pretend it can't be done, has shown that it is possible to create a safe and comfortable environment for cyclists on Manhattans busiest throughfares. The cat is out of the bag, and I have no intention of letting them put it back in quietly.

I had one fare left on my metro card and no money in my pocket. I figured I could ride to work and get home on the train if it turned out to be a terrible idea. I rode for months before I finally used up that metro card--by then I was hooked. I've ridden, rain, sleet or snow, ever since.