Clean transportation proponents are not pleased that the City Council has proposed a cut to the New York Department of Transportation's bicycle program.

The cuts, announced last week, will cut Bike Network Development by half in the following two years from the current $8.1 million. This action will delay the bike network development by a year. The program's goal is to add a total of 1,800 miles of bike lanes to ease congestion, an item in the Mayor's 2030 PlaNYC program aimed at creating a sustainable New York.

"This is no time to be penny-wise, pound-foolish," said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. "It makes no sense to trim from modest biking and walking budgets when the financial sustainability of our transportation system depends on growing these trips."

The way the City Council sees it, it is asking government to "do more with less" before entertaining the option of raising taxes on New Yorkers.

Under the cuts, the DOT's Bike Network Development plan will receive $4.8 million for fiscal year 2009 and $5.5 million for fiscal year 2010.