NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York City's bike lanes have become the Wild West, shared by all different kinds of riders, and advocates are now calling for the development of a bike lane of the future.
Bike lanes in the five boroughs have been getting a lot more crowded and a little more hostile as traditional bicycles, scooters, mopeds, electric bikes all mix together, going wildly different speeds while sharing a sliver of the road.
"The bike lanes that we have now were cutting edge and fantastic at the start of the 21st century," said Cory Epstein at Transportation Alternatives.
He believes it's time for the city to sketch out a new kind of bike lane.
"Certainly thinking about the future of bike lanes is really important," Epstein said. "The bike boom is showing no sign of slowing down and it's really important here that we make space for everyone who wants to have the option of getting around by bike."
Epstein said bike lane users should focus their ire on the city, not on each other.
"To avoid conflict and to really match this ongoing bike boom, it's about building more bike lanes and that will mean taking away space from cars," Epstein said.
Epstein is looking to something like what's being proposed by a community board on Manhattan's East Side.
Community Board 6 Transportation Chair Gene Santoro is leading the call for the Department of Transportation to study the possibility of expanding the Second Avenue bike lane to two lanes.
"So that we don't wind up with collisions traffic jams overcrowding and just dangerous condition," he said. "Second Avenue is one of the only two bike lanes in the city, the other one being First Avenue, that connects multiple boroughs."
The Department of Transportation has not returned WCBS 880's request for comment.
