Life in the Bike Lane: New York City
Cycling is the fastest-growing way to get around NYC. Image via Jaszek PL.

Cycling is the fastest-growing way to get around NYC. Image via Jaszek PL.

As WNYC highlighted on Thursday, cycling is the fastest-growing way to get around New York City.  In 2008, the city added a record 90 miles of bike lanes — bringing the total to 420 miles — and passed the Bicycle Access to Office Buildings Law, which grants tenants of commercial office buildings the right to securely park their bikes in or close to their workplace.

These policies — part of the Bloomberg administration’s PlaNYC 2030 to make the city more sustainable — contributed to an unprecedented 35 percent one-year increase in bike commuting from 2008 to 2009.

Still, only 1 percent of New Yorkers bike to work.  So what’s life like for this small slice of the Big Apple? What motivates, irks and inspires them?

Now you can find out (if you want to know). WNYC has produced a video documenting life in the bike lane in NYC.  One good tip from a reasonable rider: “We all have to co-exist; we all have to follow the rules; and we all have to walk, bike, and drive defensively.”

Watch the video:

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