The New York magazine article we wrote about yesterday — the one about how New Yorkers are getting all het up about bike lanes and how they are akin to 9/11 — has prompted a response from the NYC mayor’s office, penned by deputy mayor Howard Wolfson. Apparently Wolfson is pro-terrorism, because he seems to think bike lanes are pretty nifty.
Here are a few of the tasty, tasty facts in his memo, which bike lane opponents (judging by the article) are immediately going to wave off as lies and fabrications:
- Bike lanes improve safety. Though cycling in the city has more than doubled in the last four years, the number of fatal cycling crashes and serious injuries has declined due to the safer bike network.
- When protected bike lanes are installed, injury crashes for all road users (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists), typically drop by 40 percent and by more than 50 percent in some locations.
- From 2001 through 2005, four pedestrians were killed in bike-pedestrian accidents. From 2006 through 2010, while cycling in the city doubled, three pedestrians were killed in bike-pedestrian accidents.
- 66 percent of the bike lanes installed have had no effects on parking or on the number of moving lanes.
Oh, and P.S.: The majority of people in NYC support the bike lanes. It’s just that the other side has most of the overweening pricks, apparently.
