Dutch bikes in Battery Park, New York. Photo by Nate Baird.
A temporary bike share (courtesy of the Dutch Embassy) was definitely one of the highlights of my recent trip to New York City, which all year has been celebrating the 400th anniversary of Captain Henry Hudson’s voyage to “New Amsterdam,” or modern-day Manhattan. While the New York Examiner’s Meredith Sladek supplied full coverage of the orange bikes some weeks ago, I stumbled upon the free program (now over) quite unwittingly. If you’re in NYC right now for the Walk 21 conference, though, you just might have seen some of the same bikes touring about NYC on Tuesday with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals members aboard.
Volunteers staff the bike share booth for the Hudson on the Holland (www.ny400.org) festivities. Photo by Nate Baird.
It’s hard to beat the perspective given by bike. While I and my travel companions toured about lower Manhattan, and then the Brooklyn Bridge, it was hard not to imagine a new kind of life style afforded by the orange bikes. Taking part in Walk 21 conference activities yesterday, APBP members seemed to have had a similar experience exploring NYC’s latest and greatest bicycle facilities. From an “E-postcard” to APBP members this afternoon:
. . . Executive Director Kit Keller observed, “It is time to go beyond analyzing design innovations and new approaches on paper to actually experiencing them as cyclists and pedestrians. From there we can engage in a rigorous dialogue about the quality of that experience and the function of these facilities.”
The Orange Ones. Photo by Nate Baird.
According to Sladek, the orange bikes are due to be turned over to the non-profit organization Recycle-a-Bicycle, which “… promotes everyday bicycle use,” and is a apparently a “great place to learn bicycle mechanics” while interacting with “positive, forward-thinking NYC youth.” Their retail shops “are the place to find that city bike you need.”
Need more updates on the Walk 21 conference? APBP members have been twittering highlights all along. One last note: If you haven’t head of the Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals before, I highly recommend the member organization to professionals, activists, and concerned citizens alike.
