To everyone who rides a bicycle in New York City, to everyone who wants to but doesn't dare, and to everyone who longs for a more vibrant city:

We offer you this Bicycle Blueprint.

As bicyclists and cycling advocates, we have found joy and freedom riding on the city streets. Cycling enriches our lives and humanizes our city, and we want to help others share this experience.

We protest the poor conditions that keep us second-class citizens and inhibit our fellow New Yorkers from cycling. New York's five boroughs offer ideal density and topography for cycling, but our streets are too dangerous for all but the most intrepid.

Cycling should not require the degree of courage, compromise, and pluck now needed to get around safely and securely. We should not be victims of building managers who bar bikes; traffic engineers who cut off bridge access; road crews that overlook bike-sized potholes; and, worst, motorists who think little of risking a cyclist's life in order to save a few seconds. On any given day, a routine bike ride can turn into a heart-stopping contest for survival. No wonder ex- and non-cyclists far outnumber active cyclists in New York City.

With this Blueprint, Transportation Alternatives calls on government and the private sector to change the equation on our streets. Let us banish the fear from cycling. Let every New Yorker who wants to, feel free to hop on a bike. Together, let us create a more bicycle-friendly, livable New York City.

This Blueprint expresses the realities and the possibilities of cycling in our great city. We offer hundreds of compelling, feasible recommendations for bringing cycling into the mainstream in New York. Each is targeted to a specific agency or department; many are described in great detail. Officials who in the past have disregarded cyclists' needs, whether out of ignorance or prejudice, can now begin to set in place the provisions we deserve. In the process, they will improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

The bicycle has always been a wonder — a simple, healthful, efficient, beautiful machine, perfectly suited to city streets. Come, let us work wonders in New York City.