Route 9W is the most popular recreational cycling route in the New York City region, which is, of course, the most densely populated metropolitan area in the United States. Riders pick up 9W just north of the George Washington Bridge and generally head up to the quaint villages of Piermont and Nyack where they stop for coffee and muffins. From there, they have the option of returning to the city or else continuing up to Bear Mountain State Park and beyond.
I鈥檝e been riding 9W for decades now, but it was only during a recent weekend ride that I noticed something: cyclists comprise most of the traffic. On that particular day, I probably passed something like 100 cyclists a minute versus maybe like five cars.
Of course, the balance shifts more toward drivers during the week, but overall 9W sees a shitload of bikes. Yet for as long as I鈥檝e been riding this corridor, cyclists have been treated at best as an afterthought and at worst as a nuisance. Over the past 20 years, I鈥檝e seen virtually no infrastructure changes to increase cyclist safety or even convey to anybody that this is possibly the most heavily cycled route in the entire country.
I have, however, heard plenty of kvetching. Even though thousands of cyclists visit and spend money in these villages every week, all you ever read about in the news is how they do awful things, like talk audibly to each other while riding two abreast. Most recently, South Nyack residents , terrified by the prospect that cyclists and pedestrians might continue to visit in an environmentally friendly manner and spend money after dark. (Don鈥檛 worry, you鈥檒l still be able to drive your car over and do donuts on lawns at any time of the day or night.)
Majority rules and money talks鈥攗nless you鈥檙e talking about people on bicycles, in which case we have a stunning capacity for ignoring them altogether.
It鈥檚 a similar situation along popular cycling routes everywhere: cyclists vilified for slowing traffic when in fact they are the majority of the traffic, or for somehow diminishing everybody鈥檚 quality of life by riding bicycles and patronizing local businesses. Furthermore, as more people commute by bike in cities across the country, it鈥檚 increasingly common to find streets where, during rush hour, you鈥檒l see more bicycles than cars.
Yet it seems that whenever a new bicycle infrastructure proposal comes up, the first consideration鈥攅ven before safety鈥攊s to what extent it might inconvenience drivers. In New York City, life-saving bike lane projects are subject to months and months of pointless public debate driven almost entirely by people whose primary concern is on-street car parking. Citi Bike sees something like 15 million trips per years, and the curb space taken up by one private car can provide docking space for eight publicly shared Citi Bikes. But before a new station is installed, planners must justify the 鈥渓oss鈥 of parking, even though it鈥檚 a net gain. Moreover, in order to preserve that precious car parking space, Citi Bike stations often wind up being installed on the sidewalk.聽
Majority rules and money talks鈥攗nless you鈥檙e talking about people on bicycles, in which case we have a stunning capacity for ignoring them altogether.
None of this is really surprising. After all, we鈥檝e spend the last century in a state of complete surrender to the automobile, so of course we think putting cars first is normal. But it鈥檚 not normal鈥攊t鈥檚 absurd. And as more people begin riding bikes, the more apparent the absurdity becomes. It鈥檚 easy to blame a bike lane for the traffic jam you鈥檙e sitting in, but sooner or later, you can鈥檛 ignore all those cyclists whizzing by. And unless you鈥檝e got carbon-monoxide-induced brain damage, eventually you鈥檙e going to have to confront the fact that the metal box you鈥檙e sitting in is just too damn big鈥攂ike lane or no bike lane. Same goes for the 鈥渓oss鈥 of parking. Invariably when a city proposes a new bike lane, there鈥檚 concern that it will harm local businesses by making it more difficult for customers to park. However, unless you鈥檙e selling building supplies or farm equipment, you need to confront the fact that expecting more and more people to arrive at your place of business in increasingly large vehicles is an extremely poor and ultimately self-defeating business model. 聽
Oh sure, you can put more stuff in a car trunk than in a pannier, but that鈥檚 nothing compared to how many more bikes than cars you can fit on a typical shopping street.
Unfortunately, because this is the Land of the Freeway and the Home of the SUV, it鈥檚 going to be awhile before most of us come to realize how often it鈥檚 the cars that are actually preventing people from getting around. It鈥檒l probably also take us awhile to realize that bicycles mean business, and that the people who ride them are indeed human beings who proffer currency in exchange for goods and services鈥攋ust like drivers. As it is, thousands of cyclists stream up 9W every weekend and spend money in towns that often seem annoyed by them. Imagine how profligate cyclist spending would be if communities treated them as an asset rather than a blight.
Eventually there will be some sort of inversion wherein we realize all these things. But how many people need to be riding bikes before it happens? Do we need 20 percent聽mode share? 50 percent?聽99 percent? Or will we keep prioritizing cars until the bike lanes are packed and there鈥檚 one guy driving down an empty six-lane avenue in a Hyundai?
Hey, we wouldn't want him to have any trouble parking.