Introduction NYC Cycling 1. NYC Bike Policy 2. State of NYC Cycling 3. Cyclists & Streets “A Bike and a Prayer” Riding Infrastructure 4. Street Design 5. Bridges 6. Road Surfaces 7. Greenways 8. Parks  Bicycles and Transit
10. Reducing Traffic Security 11. Bicycle Theft 12. On-Street Parking 13. Indoor Parking On the Job Cycling 14. Bicycle Messengers “Fifth, Park & Madison” 15. Freight Cycles 16. Gov't Cycling Reducing Risks 17. Accidents “Three Who Died” 18. Air Pollution Bicycle Education 19. Schools 20. Public Education Appendices |
Chapter 9:
Bicycles and Transit a) Bicycles and Mass Transit Rail-Station Bicycle Parking
c) Europe and Japan d) United States and New York e) Bicycle Parking Costs f) Station Parking Conditions in the New York Area g) Ride-and-Bike h) Bicycles on Transit Vehicles i) New York City Transit Authority j) Bus Access k) Ferries l) Chapter 9 Recommendations Rail-Station Bicycle Parking
The first key in improving bike-transit connections is to upgrade bicycle parking facilities at rail, bus and ferry stations. The greatest opportunities are at the region's commuter rail stations, where driving to stations is producing a raft of problems: twice-daily traffic jams and overflowing parking lots that spill onto local streets. Virtually lost in debates over expanding station parking and access roads is the bicycle, which a recent report prepared for the Commission of the European Communities called “the ideal means of transport to be combined with the train system.” [2] Because bicycles take up so little space to ride and park, the Commission noted, they “make possible the access of a large number of passengers to a train-terminal without damaging the local urban environment.” [3] As the New York region struggles with Clean Air Act mandates and constraints on both public expenditures and land, bike-and-ride programs should be seized upon as among the most cost-effective transportation improvements. Most New York-area rail commuters, even those who live a few miles from transit lines, drive to their station. Others eschew the train or bus altogether, reasoning that as long as they have to drive to the station, they may as well drive all the way to work. With secure, convenient bicycle parking, however, both kinds of commuters can consider leaving the car at home. The trip to the station changes from expensive drudgery to economical, efficient morning exercise, and a once-impractical rail commute becomes suddenly worthwhile. The air pollution benefits are especially acute when rail commuters stop driving to their train and cycle instead. As transportation consultant Michael Replogle notes, “Automobile park-and-ride trips involve cold-start vehicle operation, with associated pollution emission and fuel use rates several times higher than the average for all automobile travel.” [4] And while not every bike-and-ride commute involves a former driver, many such trips do. In California, between one-third and two-third of train station users of bicycle lockers formerly drove alone to their destination. [5]
NOTES:2. European Cyclists' Federation, Bikes and Trains: Provisions for Bicycles Made by the Railways of Western Europe, Copenhagen, Nov. 1992, p. 6.3. Ibid. 4. Replogle and Parcells, op. cit., p. 3. 5. Ibid., p. 4, which puts the range at 30%-68%. a) Bicycles and Mass Transit Rail-Station Bicycle Parking
c) Europe and Japan d) United States and New York e) Bicycle Parking Costs f) Station Parking Conditions in the New York Area g) Ride-and-Bike h) Bicycles on Transit Vehicles i) New York City Transit Authority j) Bus Access k) Ferries l) Chapter 9 Recommendations |
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