De Blasio: Bike Lanes That Replace Parking Spots, Travel Lanes Are Worth It

Elevated from the headline stack: CBS radio reporter Steve Scott elicited the following response from mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio on the subject of bike lanes. It’s got a touch more specificity than the norm:

Scott ended the interview on the subject of bike lanes, asking if they are worth the parking spots and vehicular traffic lanes that they eliminate.

“They are, in the final analysis,” said de Blasio. “My district in Brooklyn when I was in the City Council was one of the first to have bike lanes and they do help calm down the traffic. They do help make neighborhoods safer and more and more people are turning to bikes as an option, which is good for the environment, obviously good for people’s health.”

“The way Mayor Bloomberg did it, as usual, was often insensitive to communities,” he added. “But that doesn’t mean bike lanes aren’t a good idea. Yes, we should expand them deeper into the outer boroughs. I think we gain a lot of benefit from it.”