America's Greatest Cycling City? | NYC

New York City is well on it's way to becoming a world class cycling city, perhaps the best in North America. Why isn't it there yet? Well, in this video I share my experience riding around the big apple, what I loved, what I didn't and what is being done to bring this incredible city to the top.

0:00 Is New York The Greatest Cycling City
0:40 Great Micromobility Cities
1:15 Cycling From LaGuardia
1:57 New York's Cycling Network
2:42 Biking Central Park
2:56 Citibike bike share is Fantastic
3:33 New York Drivers
4:14 Reckless Cyclists
4:44 Ban Gas Mopeds
4:52 Parking in Bike lanes
5:20 Bad Bike Lanes
6:14 Legality of Micromobility
7:00 Improvements
7:41 Not the greatest...yet
8:21 I love NY biking
8:46 Why Bike When Transit
9:14 Best way to see New York

America's Greatest Cycling City? | NYC

[ManunKanava]

Nice that at least somewhere there is good bike infrastructure

[mariusfacktor]

Cars going fairly slow in NYC makes a huge difference. When cars are going under 20 mph, it's really not unpleasant or that unsafe to walk or bike beside them. But going above 20 mph, and it becomes intolerable to share the street with them.

The true indicator of bikeability is seeing kids and the elderly using them. It's simply not safe enough for this yet. There is a long way to go and they need to take away thousands of miles of car lanes and car parking lanes for that to become a reality.

[tommydesilva]

Great video! Your takes were very detailed and nuanced!

[DanTheCaptain]

I’ve always said that New York can be and has the potential to be the Amsterdam of North American. After all it was known at one point as New Amsterdam. However, I think it’s car dependency is what keeps it back. The city needs to clamp down hard on car use and vastly increase the number of micro mobility options and infrastructure.

[itsliam]

Not a bad video and a lot of the problems you mentioned are being worked on; albeit slowly. The QB bridge has been delayed for rework for quite a few years now and TA has been fighting for improved infrastructure over there.

Things like parked cars are a problem not just in NYC but in cities everywhere (especially in North America) - though perhaps it is more noticeable in denser cities. We have however been running into some problems with the current mayor and opposition from other politicians which are somewhat stifling the growth of the network - but DOT has made it clear that the order of priority should be -> Peds - Micromobility - Transit - FHV - Private Cars.

As for the other forms of micromobility - this is also a larger issue across the industry with so many different modes of transport being introduced. Many European countries still have these outlawed as well (Netherlands, Germany, Poland, UK, Ireland, ...) -> more work needs to be done on this area

[jeffreylee]

Biking in NYC has become so mind blowingly better since I moved here 25 years ago that it’s hard to describe. It’s of course far from perfect, but given the challenges involved with an aging and ever evolving infrastructure as well as a myriad of cultures and individuals, it’s astonishing that pretty much anything works at all.

[kriserts]

One reason the network is fractured is every single community board gets a say in infrastructure, and some welcome cycling, others are hostile. It’s a huge fight. DOT for some reason believes they need to work with everyone. They need to seize control and build what they know is safe.

[sometwo]

As someone whos gotten very comfortable on the electric citibikes over the past 3 years, while the city definitely has a long way to go before biking is considered safe enough for most non cyclist pedestrians, its always a nice suprise when i bike or walk by a street or avenue and see a fresh layer of green paint in places that only had parking and car lanes. As the city keeps improving i have no doubt more and more people will fall in love with biking around the city like I did. I used to commute to school by bike and was lucky enough to live and go to school very close to central park in a way that allowed the central park loop to be my commute path going and coming from school, its amazing starting the day with the breeze on your face and the peaceful and scenic ride through the park.

[JooUpdate]

good morning from bali my dear friend, thank for taking us with this beautiful video

[lightning]

One thing I think is important as well is straight-up SPEED. After all bikes are a way of commuting, and having places where they can be very fast(Hudson River Bikeway is awesome for that) is important to getting more people to bike. Less pedestrians to slow us down, more dedicated lanes.

[tomreingold]

Very good video, and you treat NYC very fairly. I was born and raised here in Manhattan. I left for the suburbs and many years later came back. I’ve been in Manhattan most of my life and have been cycling here for most of the time. I still do, about 1, 500 miles a year. You’re right that the City has done a good job. It is doing all the right things but at the wrong pace. I feel very mixed. I suppose the culture is one of my problems. I’ve seen drivers improve their behavior towards cyclists etc but not enough, and there is enough bad, dangerous driving to make many of us scared. Even I’m scared, and I’m experienced and have good nerves. We need to do more. Still, I know I’m lucky. The Hudson River Greenway is my commuting route.

[HeBeWatchin]

You did an amazing job encompassing cycling in NYC. I do deliveries on my road bike to make a living and even before that I’ve always loved biking in general. It was nice to see you on some of the routes I frequent especially the protected bike lane that runs down Crescent street from bridge to bridge. Cycling is a big part of nyc culture, and being on the road is all about respect. Even then sometimes I can get a bit out of hand with my speed and projecting where I’m going through traffic but that’s because I’ve been biking the same streets for years now. But there’s a great understanding between bikers and drivers. The only people that I feel disrupt this are as you said, e-bike and moped drivers along with yellow taxi drivers (who have always been notoriously bad drivers IMO)

Lastly I just want to say I’m so thankful that biking is a way of life for me. Due to how bad NYC can be sometimes I often think about moving away but I’m born and raised and it’s hard to see myself living an equally satisfying life somewhere else.

[BillAmstutz]

Great video! I have been cycling in NYC for more than 25 years, and you did a great job representing what it's like to cycle here.

[scorpion]

As someone who remembers when we had no bike lanes, it's come a long way in the last 10-15 years. It still has a long way to go, but there is no denying the commitment to micro mobility from multiple city administrations and i expect that to continue and mature. The street infrastructure will continue to expand and upgrade, but the citibike system may not survive sadly. At least not in it's current state which is a shame because it's great.

[steveyankou]

Been riding in NYC practically every day for 10 years, and I completely agree with your assessment. There are also incredible routes in the Bronx (the route to Orchard Beach/ City Island for one) and the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn/ the Rockaways in Queens.

[JohnRglmtz]

I agree with most everything you are saying about biking in NYC, but I think the negatives you pointed out are insignificant when compared with the overall biking experience you get in NYC as compared with most every other place in the US, and the number one issue is the feeling of safety. I live in CA and whenever I visit the in-laws in NJ, it's always a highlight for me to bike over the GW, down the Hudson Greenway, with a side trip around the now car-free loop in Central Park. The thing that stands out for me is that I feel safer riding on the streets of Manhattan than I do on my local roads in Northern California, most of which are 2-lane, no-shoulder, high-speed death-traps. I rode 10, 000 miles in 2023, and have crossed the country 3 times on a bike, and I have never seen any place as bike-friendly as NYC. In every other place in the US, bicycles are not considered legitimate users of the roadways, but in NYC they are.

[JuanRosado-uhpd]

I’m a native New Yorker who grew up riding in this city. The city now verses when I was a kid is very different. To me it’s safer now except for the e-bike delivery riders who disrespect traffic safety rules. The bike lanes add, for me, a safer experience.

[robertewalt]

I live in Bergen County, NJ. Many cyclists come across the George Washington Bridge to cycle on our quiet roads, especially on Sundays.

[bobemmerich]

Live out on Long Island, Suffolk Co. Love cycling in the city. The vibe is fabulous. Always something new and different.

[MerlinDerMagier]

Great video, great ending! Car culture and car dependency are keeping NYC back. Not just NYC, but the entire USA and the world.