Overview:
Bicycle ridership in New York City has increased significantly in the last decade as more miles of bicycle lanes and greenway trails are built.  However, people have not been able to effectively combine mass transit and bicycling as a means of daily travel due to the absence of secure bicycle parking at or near transit stations.  While many people do not live within a reasonable biking distance to work, they are within a reasonable biking distance to transit.  Bike & Ride: Bicycle Access and Parking for Subway and Commuter Rail Users recommends a series of locations for the installation of secure bicycle parking facilities at transit stations.  By making bike parking available at these locations, bicyclists will be able to ride to a transit station, securely park their bikes, and then ride the train to their workplace or to other destinations.  This will help encourage existing bicyclists to combine bike and mass transit as well as attract new bicyclists.

In this report, 239 stations were surveyed, which represents approximately 50% of the total number of transit stations citywide.  Bike & Ride recommends site-specific bike parking at many of these locations, such as vertical bike parking on the mezzanine level of the DeKalb Avenue (B,D,M,N,Q,R) subway station in Brooklyn, and retrofitted vehicle parking meters at the Graham Avenue station (L). In collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOT), a list of the stations recommended in this report for new bicycle parking racks, were given to DOT and they have already installed a number of racks along the 7 subway line in Queens. This report also demonstrates how to properly lock a bicycle to a rack which is a key component to a successful bicycle parking network.

Covered bicycle parking at the DeKalb Avenue (B,D,M,N,Q,R) subway station in Brooklyn. View a larger image.

Potential bicycle commuters within a ½ mile and 2 mile buffer of subway stations in Queens. View a larger image.

Bicycling is an excellent form of physical activity as well as being an environmentally friendly form of transportation. Bike & Ride lays the groundwork for the development of a complete bicycle parking network at transit stations throughout the five boroughs. Increasing multi-modal transportation options for city residents, as outlined in this report, can increase the number of citywide bicycle trips which can help alleviate road congestion and improve air quality.


Report:
The master plan is available as a complete document (11.5 mb) or by sections in PDF format:

• Part 1 - Cover to page 23 ( 1.3 MB)
• Part 2 - pages 24 to 45 ( 2.8 MB)
• Part 3 - pages 46 to 85 ( 2.2 MB)
• Part 4 - pages 86 to 108 ( 2.4 MB)
• Part 5 - pages 109 to 128 ( 2.2 MB)

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