In this September edition of NYCycles, you’ll find:

New Bike Routes
2007 Cycling Map

And tools to make your ride safer and easier:
Road and Bridge Closures
Free Helmets
Request a Bike Rack
Report a Problem

Quick Bit:

A recent New York Times article featured Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Sadik-Khan as champions of cycling in New York City. According to the article "the Bloomberg administration says it want to develop cycling as a viable transportation alternative to ease traffic congestion, reduce carbon emissions and encourage physical activity." Read the full article here.

This unprecedented partnership between City government, cycling advocates and the AAA was given a boost by the international advertising firm Publicis, which designed the creative materials for the campaign pro-bono.

The LOOK campaign aims to prevent collisions between motorists and cyclists by educating the public about bicycle safety and encouraging motorists and cyclists to literally look out for one another on the streets.

LOOK campaign outdoor advertisements will run throughout the fall on bus stop shelters, bus tails, phone kiosks, taxi tops, at gas stations and on postcards that will be placed in restaurants around the City. The ads will also be featured in Time Out NY and New York Magazine and radio advertisements will be broadcast on local stations.

The LOOK campaign was conceived by the NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition following the 2006 release of the first comprehensive analysis of bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries in New York City. In addition to improving motorist and cyclist awareness, the City committed to doubling the number of on-street bicycle lanes and paths in three years; improving data collection, analysis, and reporting of bicycle injuries; and increasing enforcement of cars parked in bicycle lanes.

The NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition is made up of the City’s Transportation, Police, and Health and Mental Hygiene Departments; the Taxi and Limousine Commission; the Public Advocate's Office; Transportation Alternatives; the Five Borough Bike Club; and AAA.

Read the press release.

Visit looknyc.org for more information about the campaign and to download images from the campaign.

Today though, with cycling booming in New York City, cyclists deserve better. The DOT Bicycle Program and Geometric Design Office have redesigned the bike lane on 5th Avenue between 23rd Street and Washington Square North with a five-foot wide lane and buffer. New York City is again on the leading edge in installing these buffers, which provide cyclists with additional room to maneuver and a little extra room to breathe between parked cars and moving traffic.

The construction is being completed now, as part of a planned street resurfacing project, saving taxpayers money, by incorporating this work into a pre-existing project. The lane miles striped will be in addition to the planned expansion of the bicycle network.

Cyclist-Eye-View of Safety: DOT Street Safety Inspectors Take to Two Wheels
DOT's staff is responsible for maintaining 5,800 miles of streets throughout the five boroughs. That's a lot of ground to cover. Which is why, for the most part, street inspections are conducted using cars. Unfortunately most car tires are several times the size of bike tires, and what seems like a small street defect to a motorist can be a much bigger deal for a cyclist.

DOT Highway Inspection And Quality Assurance (HIQA) inspectors recently took to two wheels to find these small, but important street defects. DOT has purchased 10 bikes for HIQA inspectors to use. HIQA will be using a two-pronged approach to street inspections on bikes. They have developed a system whereby they can cross reference the data base of all street construction with a database showing the locations of all bike lanes. Street construction sites occurring along bike lanes will be inspected regularly by an inspector on bike. Additionally, all Class II bike lanes will be inspected on a rolling basis by HIQA staff on bikes as time permits to assess not only street condition, but also the conditions of bike lane markings. The HIQA team tested this approach in Manhattan and found it took about three weekends to inspect every Class II lane in this borough by bike.

- E 90th Street, Upper East Side crosstown route

- Hudson Street, between 14th Street and 8th Avenue, the first part of a crosstown route that will in the future include Bleecker Street

Quick Tip: Daylight's fading fast! Make sure you have a front and rear light for your bike so you can stay visible even if you’re biking home after dark.

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