#Weekend rides drive pandemic-era New York City bike boom

A group of cyclists riding in Brooklyn on Sunday as a substitute for the cancelled West Indian Day Parade.
Gregory P. Mango

The number of people cycling on the weekend is up a whopping 57 percent in 2020 compared to last year, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg told city council members on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a cycling boom,” Trottenberg testified, noting that weekday bike counts are also up, but by a comparatively slim 26 percent.

The numbers come from automated bike counters along Brooklyn’s Prospect Park West and Kent Avenue protected bike lanes and five bridges: the Pulaski, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro.

Of those locations, the Pulaski Bridge between Greenpoint and Long Island City, Queens saw the largest spike in weekend bike rides — over 78 percent.

Prospect Park West and the Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro bridges all saw weekend cycling jumps over 50 percent. Kent Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge saw increases closer to 25 percent.

On Wednesday, bike advocates launched a campaign for expanded bike paths on the four East River bridges, which experienced higher weekday bike traffic last month than at any other point in the last three years, according to Transportation Alternatives.

The group said the city needs to build more protected bike lanes and secure bicycle parking to meet the increased demand.

“In order to capture this moment, and to accommodate the clear desire from New Yorkers to bike more, we need to direct as many trips as possible away from cars towards sustainable transportation solutions,” Transportation Alternatives deputy director Marco Conner DiAquoi said.

“People who bike or wish to bike fear for their safety,” he added. “This is a moment the city has to seize.”