Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Braving Double-Parked Parents, MS 51 Students Bike to School in Droves

Bike racks set up for MS 51's annual Bike-To-School Day are filled with students' wheels.

Based on this picture of rows of temporary bike racks, all filled, it looks like MS 51's Bike-To-School Day was a big hit (photo via Lara Lebeiko of Bicycle Habitat, which provided volunteers for the event). Escorted rides, or "bike buses," took students from Sunset Park, Carroll Gardens and Windsor Terrace/Kensington to the Park Slope school and back. During the day, a bike skills and safety course helped teach the students how to ride on their own.

MS 51 has been holding a Bike-To-School Day event since 2010. Check out Streetfilms' coverage of the school's first year of festivities here.

But even a coordinated effort to promote biking to school didn't eliminate one of the most persistent perils on the route to MS 51. In the morning, Fifth Avenue is a mess of double-parked parents dropping off their kids out in front of school. The bike lane in front of the school is routinely impassible, and today was no exception, as the below photo from Streetsblog reader Car Free Nation illustrates.

It's great to see a city school promoting cycling to its students. To keep them riding, though, it looks like the city needs some traffic enforcement.

Double-parked cars block the Fifth Avenue bike lane before school starts.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Mayor Mamdani Won’t Discuss The Ongoing NYPD Criminal Bike Crackdown That Candidate Mamdani Opposed

Hizzoner has gotten the question at least four times in the last 11 days and has yet to explain why he has not ended the NYPD's ticketing blitz against bikers.

January 16, 2026

New Speaker’s Transportation Committee Signals Departure From Her Car-First Predecessor

The Council committee tapped by new Speaker Julie Menin has a pro-bike, pro-pedestrian chair — and zero Republicans.

January 16, 2026

Mamdani Warns Delivery Apps to Follow New Worker Protection Laws — Or Else

The Mamdani Administration sent letters to over 60 delivery app companies, warning they must comply with new regulations.

January 16, 2026

Advocates to Mamdani: Come See the Cross Bronx Impact for Yourself!

Anti-highway expansion advocates in the Bronx are asking the mayor to hear them out on their ideas to create a safer and more human-friendly environment around the toxic expressway.

January 16, 2026

Friday Video: Remember When Central Park Was Actually Dangerous?

Streetfilms legend Clarence Eckerson reframes the debate about Manhattan's premier green space in just 45 seconds.

January 16, 2026

Friday’s Headlines: Back on Top Edition

The administration is going after the delivery app companies. Plus other news.

January 16, 2026
See all posts