City Promoting Bike Lanes More Aggressively
Today The Times covers how the city has set out to make its case for bike lanes, saying it hasn’t been “aggressive enough” in promoting and defending them. The PR push comes after the lawsuit filed over the Prospect Park West bike lane. The lawyer repping the plaintiffs in that case has been on a…
Today The Times covers how the city has set out to make its case for bike lanes, saying it hasn’t been “aggressive enough” in promoting and defending them. The PR push comes after the lawsuit filed over the Prospect Park West bike lane. The lawyer repping the plaintiffs in that case has been on a media blitz himself and says “the Bloomberg administration had still not addressed concerns about its closeness with bicycle advocates and its interpretation of statistics.” Meanwhile, the article notes that the bike-advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has hired a PR firm for the first time in its nearly 40-year history: “‘It’s all hands on deck because the future of our city does, quite frankly, hang in the balance,’ said the group’s executive director, Paul Steely White. He framed the recent ruckus as a turning point in whether the city continues to promote pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly policies.” The story also highlights that the city’s defense of bike lanes comes amidst the mayor’s low poll ratings “and a fair amount of resentment from those who live outside Manhattan, who tend to be less in favor of bicycles.”
Promoting Bicycle Lanes as if They Were on the Ballot [NY Times]
Photo by Graham Coreil-Allen
Although White is guilty of hyperbole, there is truth to what he says. Bike riding is better for the environment. And bike lanes are here to stay. But it is also true that people in the outer boroughs lack the kind of public transportation that Manhattan has and painting bike lanes all over the city is still not dealing with the real problem- lack of public transportation in those areas. With millions of people depending on vehicles to get to and from work, the fact is, bike lanes will not save us. Better public transportation might.
Quite right Zinka, its best to come off as irrational when countering the irrational.
Did they serve Kool-Aid at the press conference?
About time they countered the irrational, anti-urban bike haters, who are getting way more press than they deserve.
It is more urgent than Mr White knows, NYC is at the center of the world and a failure of bike lanes here will not doubt lead to GLOBAL collapse.
Do his followers need to be baptized?
lol seriously PANIC ON MSN! the whole city will fizzle to nothingness of Molly and Ethan aren’t 100 percent safe on the roads!
*rob*
Consider what happened to Rome after they failed to divide the chariot lanes from the man-hauled carts.
“‘It’s all hands on deck because the future of our city does, quite frankly, hang in the balance,’
This is not at all an exaggeration.
a PR firm to ride a f’ing bike… :-/ could NYC be any more pussified? just shut up, get on your bike, and ride! why is everything such a look at me look at me circus!?
*rob*