How to Turn Cities Into Biketopias? Make it Harder to Drive There

A Queens-based bike courier who goes by the mononym of Quentin echoes Berlanga’s sentiment, noting how New York’s streets suddenly feel more spacious than ever. “These just a lot more elbow room now,” Quentin says, admitting that part of him misses the traffic, as the gridlock often made his job more exciting. “The Avenues, especially through Midtown, just seem wide open, and you can tell there are so many less cars on the road.” But it’s not only couriers enjoying the City’s less trafficked streets. Though the city’s bike-sharing platform, CitiBike, has yet to share ridership information from January, there simply appear to be more people on bikes than at comparable times in years past. “Even in this unusually cold winter, we’re seeing more people biking since congestion pricing took effect,” says Ken Podziba, director of the advocacy nonprofit Bike New York. “But the real excitement will come with warmer weather, as we witness a dramatic shift—fewer cars and more bikes filling the ... Read full article.