Eric Adams bikes to work on second day in office: ‘On the road again!’ (A.K.A The NY Bike thread)
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MTA/Marisa Baldeo
The Throgs Neck Bridge, which runs between the Bronx and Queens, is one of four MTA bridges that currently lack bike and pedestrian access.
After years of Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials’ reluctance to open up the agency’s bridges to cyclists, the authority is developing a plan to integrate bikes and pedestrian access across its transit networks.
The Bike, Pedestrian and Micromobility Strategic Action Plan, which the MTA plans to release later this year, is following through on a bill signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December. It requires the agency to plan for and encourage bike and e-scooter use at its bridges, stations and other facilities. MTA officials say the plan’s goal is to create “equitable access to transit systems and supporting sustainable transportation.”
"We want to improve customer access to our environmentally friendly MTA services, however they get to their train or bus,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement, adding that the effort will help bring riders back to its systems and reduce the agency’s carbon footprint. “As a cyclist myself, I know that biking can be the perfect complement to mass transit.”
To support its work, the MTA has hired Sam Schwartz Engineering as a consultant on the project toward achieving five core goals: improve bike, pedestrian and micromobility access at subway stations and bus stops; enhance access at Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad stops; integrate trip planning and payments with bike-sharing and electric scooter services; strengthen coordination with municipalities on these efforts; and create pedestrian and bike access to infrastructure operated by the authority’s bridges and tunnels department.
Under the MTA's rules, cyclists are not allowed to bike the agency’s seven bridges and two tunnels. Pedestrian paths are accessible at four of the spans, but the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge all lack pedestrian and bike access. Instead, certain MTA buses equipped with bike racks can shepherd cyclists over the bridges.
Particularly on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn, transportation advocates have staunchly pushed for the MTA to install bike lanes on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge—a bike path was even floated by the bridge’s original designers. Transit experts say the new plan can be the first step toward the MTA ushering in new bike and pedestrian infrastructure to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and beyond.
“I'm certainly hoping they take a look at it,” said Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association. “There's been a lot of interest in making that connection. We’re seeing a cycling boom across the city, and part of accommodating that is improving connections between the boroughs and allowing people to travel outside of Manhattan.”
The Department of Transportation has already shown that it is possible to successfully—and with minimal cost—repurpose road space for bike paths, such as with the Brooklyn Bridge and Pulsaki Bridge, said Jon Orcutt, a former director of policy at the DOT who works with Bike New York.
Orcutt said the MTA’s planning efforts could benefit from a meeting of the minds between bridge officials at both agencies. The authority should be creative in implementing short-term solutions while it crafts a longer-term road map, he said. For instance, that could include partnering with DOT to install bike parking on municipal land just outside subway stations to make it more attractive for riders to bike to stations.
“When you get further out into the city, the walking distances to subways can increase a lot, and bike access is a good way to address that,” Orcutt said. “I would hope that [the MTA is] finding some low-hanging fruit where they can do things quickly—like this year—and not wait for the planning process to wind its way through MTA world.”
Recent steps the MTA has taken toward a more bike-friendly transit system include in August eliminating a rule in that riders on its commuter railroads obtain a permit to bring bikes on board. The agency has also added new bike lockers at six Metro-North stations and 18 LIRR stops, and it launched a secure bike storage pilot program at Grand Central Terminal with Oonee, a Brooklyn-based startup whose mini-pod offers six bike parking spaces.
New York MTA begins planning more accessible mobility network
MTA’s new strategic action plan looks to improve equity across the network by integrating bikes, pedestrians and micromobility options.
www.smartcitiesworld.net
New York MTA begins planning more accessible mobility network
Road travel03 Jun 2022by Luke AntoniouMTA’s new strategic action plan looks to improve equity across the network by integrating bikes, pedestrians and micromobility options with the agency’s transport system.
New York MTA's efforts to make its transit network more accessible are set to continue in 2022
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is creating a new strategic action plan that aims to enhance bicycle, pedestrian, and micromobility access to MTA facilities and services.
The plan is set for release later in 2022, with MTA saying it “redoubles” the agency’s efforts to create a public transport system that provides equitable services through sustainable modes of transport.
MTA will work with Sam Schwartz Engineering as a consultant to provide critical expertise and support to the creation of the plan, which will launch in accordance with state legislation that was signed into law in 2021 by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Key points of the MTA plan
As part of its new strategic plan, the MTA has pledged to:
- Improve bicycle, pedestrian, and micromobility access to subway stations and bus stops
- Improve access at Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad stations
- Integrate trip planning and payments with bike-sharing and other micromobility services like electric scooters
- Strengthen coordination with municipalities
- Improve pedestrian and bicycle access to and on MTA bridges.
MTA chair and CEO, Janno Lieber – who announced the new plan – highlighted the importance of improving access to services: “We want to improve customer access to our environmentally friendly MTA services, however they get to their train or bus.
“As a cyclist myself, I know that biking can be the perfect complement to mass transit. This plan improves access to our services through cycling, walking, and micromobility and will help bring riders back and reduce our carbon footprint.”
MTA’s contruction and development president, Jamie Torres-Springer, said that the plan would reflect the agency’s commitment accessibility, providing tangible actions to make it easier to move through the city without relying on a car.
New York transport accessibility progress to date
The MTA has already taken steps to increase bicycle, pedestrian, and micromobility access, including enhanced bicycle access to commuter rail, bus bicycle racks, and improved bicycle and pedestrian access on bridges.
Among its accessibility improvement works to date are:
- Eliminating the requirement to obtain a permit to bring a bicycle aboard LIRR or Metro-North trains
- Installing bike lockers at six Metro-North stations and eighteen LIRR stations
- Providing bike parking at more than 60 per cent of Metro-North and LIRR stations outside of New York City
- Installing permanent bicycle racks on buses operating on four routes to allow riders to travel longer distances with their bicycle and help riders who need to travel between boroughs via the Bronx-Whitestone and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridges
- Investment from MTA Bridges and Tunnels in numerous bicycle and pedestrian access improvements including adding the new Morris Street Pedestrian Bridge over the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel Manhattan Plaza, widening a pedestrian approach and renovating the entire walkway of the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial bridge, and improving bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings at Lily Pond Avenue on Staten Island near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Schermerhorn bike lane finally receiving repairs; Brooklyn residents want removal of cars on path
Jun 03, 2022, 10:22pmUpdated 3d agoBy: News 12 Staff
The New York City Department of Transportation has unveiled plans to make major improvements to the Schermerhorn bike lane in Brooklyn.
Roughly 1,200 cyclists ride on Schermerhorn bike lane every day, with some calling it a “roadway of chaos.” thanks to the cars often parked in the bike lane of Schermerhorn Street.
“I almost never use it because I know it’s always blocked,” said Jon Orcutt, a spokesperson for Bike New York.
The bike lane travels down Schermerhorn Street, connecting Clinton Street to Third Avenue. A study from the Department of Transportation shows that more than 150 people have been injured along this road from 2015 to 2020, showing the need for safety improvements.
The new road will be converted into a one-way street with parking near one sidewalk and bike lanes along the opposite side. Cyclists can expect to see these new upgrades as soon as this summer, according to the DOT.
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UPS tests tiny battery-powered cycles in congested cities
NEW YORK (AP) — The sleek four-wheeled carts look familiar enough, but not even UPS knows precisely how to describe what could be the delivery giant's latest way to get packages to your door.
apnews.com
UPS tests tiny battery-powered cycles in congested cities
By JULIE WALKER and TED SHAFFREYyesterday
UPS worker Dyghton Anderson peddles an eQuad electric bike in a bicycle lane while delivering packages, in New York, Tuesday, July 14, 2022. Delivery giant UPS is going back to the future in its latest way to get packages to the doors of its millions of customers. The company is considering launching a fleet of pedal- and battery-powered cargo cycles for deliveries in some of the country's most congested cities. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
NEW YORK (AP) — The sleek four-wheeled carts look familiar enough, but not even UPS knows precisely how to describe what could be the delivery giant’s latest way to get packages to your door.
UPS unveiled Tuesday a battery-powered, four-wheeled cycle to more efficiently haul cargo in some of the world’s most congested streets and to reduce its carbon footprint. The company is trying to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
The slimmed-down vehicles don the company’s gold-colored logo and accompanying stripe on a dark brown background. But the “eQuad” — as the company calls it — garnered amusement from passersby.
Ian Lagowitz had never seen one and walked over to give it a look.
“It’s funny looking,” he said, “but it’s probably good for the city, right?”
Mohammad Islam called the vehicle “cool stuff,” and wished the program well.
“Big trucks always blocking the traffic,” he said, “so if they do that kind of stuff, it’s 10 times better for everybody.”
The pedal-powered vehicle was dwarfed by one of the company’s more traditional delivery trucks, which rumble through traffic and sometimes draw the ire of motorists trying to get by parked trucks on narrow streets.
Delivery companies have tried all sorts of ways to deliver packages — from traditional vans to drones. The company now has a fleet of more than 1,000 electric vehicles and thousands more that aren’t powered by traditional gas engines.
UPS said a trial run is focused on New York City and in several cities in Europe.
“New York is a complicated city, when we look at the density,” said Nicole Pilet, the industrial engineering director for UPS. “So if we can have success here in the city, then we can see how we implement in other cities throughout the U.S.”
The company had its start in Seattle more than a century ago and the first deliveries were made by foot or bicycle. As the company grew, its motorized fleet did, too.
“This is right in my wheelhouse,” said Dyghton Anderson, a 22-year-old UPS delivery person and an avid cyclist who is helping pilot the program. “I ride to and from work — from all the way from the Bronx all the way to here on 43rd — so it’s pretty comfortable for me.”