Will Sandy Turn New Yorkers Into Bike Commuters? [New Yorker]

This week, as the city was dealing with a sudden lack of public transit, I Gchatted with one colleague stuck in Brooklyn, I urged her to get on her bike and get into the New Yorker office, in Times Square. “Haha,” she replied, “but no.”

My initial response was of dismissive judgment. Why not? The Mayor wasn’t helping, either. In his Wednesday press conference, Bloomberg enacted H.O.V. restrictions in Manhattan, but didn’t say a word about bikes. Cycling infrastructure has been rapidly expanding in the city, and on a day that promised and delivered epic congestion, with lines for gas stretching for blocks on end, it seemed like an ideal opportunity for new cyclists to navigate the city by bike. But, when I set out from Times Square toward my apartment near Columbia University that evening, I was quickly reminded that riding in New York requires savvy, as well as time to build up confidence. I understood why the mayor didn’t urge thousands of New Yorkers onto their bikes.

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