A Dutchman looks at the bike renaissance in the Big Apple

Following up on yesterday's Streets peice contrasting (some) biker attitudees in New York and Paris. New York is changing; I have never seen so much cycling on the streets as this spring. Not in an abundance as Amsterdam, but closing in on Paris and London at least.

Paul White and his staff are doing a wonderful job at Transportation Alternatives. When he and I addressed a professional crowd of planners, one of the people present was almost moved to tears when he said that they had been working so long and so hard to achieve something and that now, all of a sudden, it was happening indeed.

Janette Sadik-Khan, the Commissioner for Transport of the City of New York, whom I met at a dinner party during the Bike Film Festival, in the meantime closed off part of Times Square: a wondrous experience.

Many people taking pictures, and I was one of them. Here you can see the impact of this closure to pedestrians. Have a look:



Pascal J.W. van den Noort
Executive Director Velo Mondial

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