Number of bike commuters doubles in four years

More New Yorkers are shunning the subway and hopping on two wheels to get to work. The Department of Transportation announced Thursday that the number of city residents who bike to work has doubled in the past four years.

Steve Vaccaro, 46, an attorney who bikes to work, said he’s seen more cyclists joining his daily commute, from the Upper East Side to Lower Broadway along busy Fifth Avenue.

“I love the fitness benefits,” he said.

“One of the nicest things about riding is you’re not packed in amongst people in the subway,” he added.

A number of new bike racks have cropped up throughout the city, said Caroline Samponaro at Transportation Alternatives. New York City has added 13,000 bike racks in the five boroughs, including 2,700 racks in the last fiscal year alone.

But Jack Brown, of the Coalition Against Rogue Riders, said more cyclists on city streets has created “bike bedlam.”

“They blow through red lights, they ride the wrong way,” he said.

Rack it up

The Department of Transportation installed 175 bike racks on posts that formerly held parking meters.
The racks were installed this year on Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, as well as on Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn, 37th Avenue in Queens and Johnson Avenue in the Bronx.

The city plans for 6,000 more bike racks to be installed around New York. “Our infrastructure needs to keep pace with new demands on city streets,” said DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.  

Biking is booming

Cycling to work has skyrocketed 289 percent since 2001, when just fewer than 5,000 people biked to work daily, according to Department of Transportation statistics.

How does the DOT determine the number of people who bike to work? The agency counts bike riders at six commuter locations in the city, such as bridges over the East River and the Whitehall Ferry Terminal. 

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.