Bicycling in the City

This year I bicycled in Denver, San Diego, Toronto, New York City, Richmond and Baltimore. In Baltimore I use my old sixties Euro bike with fenders, hub shifter and coaster brake which works well in bad weather and is really good for riding in traffic. In the other places I used a variety of bikes, mostly hybrids with 18 gears or more, no coaster brakes. The fixed gear direct drive fad is still a puzzle to me. I tried that once but didn't see the charm.

Bike accommodation in NYC, Broadway near Times Square

I have biked also in Muenster, Germany, which is sort of a bike capital there. I watched bikes in Copenhagen (link), the Danish bicycle Mecca and I admired complicated bike lane arrangements in DC. So how does it all compare?

First, across the US there is really a trend towards bicycling. No longer is one the lone rider among all the cars. In New York you find yourself among bikers of all descriptions, although Latino delivery guys with front baskets seem to dominate. In Denver I saw mostly office workers and what could have been students. In Toronto tons of people ride to work. In San Diego it was weekend and I saw mostly recreational riders. In Baltimore we seem to have a really diverse mix. So the good news is, nowhere are you alone and the car and bus drivers are more used to seeing somebody on a bike.

How about the accommodations? As a member of the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee in Baltimore I am used to long debates about laws that protect bicyclists and the many variations of accommodations from marked lanes to sharrows and bike boxes at intersections to the full blown bike boulevards. Near Takoma Park ArchPlan designed bike solutions on Carrol Avenue for the Maryland State Highway Administration. Baltimore, like many other cities, has added hundreds of miles of bike lanes and installed dozens of racks to show businesses how to do it. (Bike Master Plan) New York as revamped entire streets to let the bike have some designated space. (New York Bike Plan).

Somehow expecting that the Canadians would be right up there with the Danes when it comes to providing space for bikes, I was a bit disappointed about Toronto's lack of lanes. (Toronto bike plan)Yes, there are some, but the new mayor, an arch conservative, has started to take some out again.  (Jarvies Steet bike lanes). The downtown area is incredibly crowded, pedestrians are so numerous that they block at most intersections anyone who wants to turn right for the entire green phase. The effect is that cars are queuing endlessly on the curb lanes forcing the bicyclists to weave in between the stopped cars and the moving ones one lane out. Nevertheless, I found car drivers accommodating and courteous. I had a blast riding around until a hotel lift boy stepped into my path to flag down a taxi and I found myself flying over the handlebar breaking a toe in the process due to one handed (front only) reflex breaking since I had just removed my right hand from the handlebar to adjust a shoulder bag.

In New York and in Toronto the Taxis are the biggest problem. Even without lift boys they dart in and out of lanes at all times, always their eyes on the potential fare and never on the bicyclist. In Baltimore the biggest problem is the horrible pavement with all its potholes and buckled asphalt. Plus bus drivers like to sneak up from behind in their new rather quiet hybrids and then honk at you just for good measure. The three foot rule now in place in Maryland is probably unknown to most, certainly it is consistently ignored.

Bike racks are common in Toronto along most sidewalks

Even with the trend towards using the bicycle in everyday settings, the infrastructure is only skin deep. In Toronto even the GreenBuild conference didn't set up any secure bike parking inside the convention center. In DC the RailVolution conference, taking place in a hotel didn't even have bike racks in front of the hotel. The funniest thing happened in the Marriott Courtyard in Toronto where I stayed when I asked about bike parking. Since I had the bike initially in the trunk of my car they suggested to keep it there and everytime I would need it they would drive the car up with a valet. Only after some protest did they find a spot on an emergency stairway landing. Even for this, I needed the valet each time for access. The MTA office building downtown Baltimore doesn't allow bike parking in their underground garage (the rack was removed for whatever reason) but the AECOM office tower across the street has a nice rack in their parking garage securely in view of the attendant.

There is also a backlash to bike accommodation. Transportation planners have avoided bike lanes in many poorer DC neighborhoods because of a persistent perception by neighborhood leaders that those bike facilities are just for white yuppies and don't serve their community. A similar sentiment brought down the recently striped bicycle lanes on Monroe Street in Baltimore. (Link). "Nobody asked us" was the response of community leaders and removal appeared to be the only option. In Brooklyn affluent folks along Prospect Park took up a fight to request removal of a bike lane that had killed a car lane but lost. (More). It sure remains to be seen if the bicycle really remains an accepted mode of transportation in US cities.

Aside from the griping and the definite dangers (ironically, the broken toe forced me to abandon walking in favor of biking), I find the bicycle by far the most convenient and enjoyable way of exploring a city or getting around for destination in the 1-3 mile range. Not as exhausting and slow as walking, yet you can see everything, stop anytime and ultimately don't have to worry much about parking. Beats being trapped in a box any day except for pouring rain.

Bike parking in Denmark (Copenhagen)

The Stuttgart (Germany) cog rail with a bike trailer in front
Stuttgart's Mobility Plan