Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Media Watch

Post Unwittingly Makes Case for Northbound Protected Bike Lane on UWS

Today, New Yorkers got a blast from the past in the pages of the New York Post. Less than a week ago, Community Board 7 voted unanimously to ask DOT to study complete streets measures including a protected bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue. For today's paper, the Post sent two reporters to the Columbus Avenue protected bike lane to get some quotes from die-hard bike lane opponents and catch wrong-way cyclists on camera.

To get anti-bike quotes, the Post goes back to the well. Ian Alterman, the president of the 20th precinct community council who has opposed not only bike lanes but also business requests for bike racks, and the Zingone Brothers grocery store, which has previously had its grievances aired on WCBSWNYC -- and (surprise!) the Post -- both make appearances. Can you smell the controversy?

The NY Post's street safety coverage priorities. Photo: NY Post
If there was a protected northbound bike route on the Upper West Side, the Columbus Avenue bike lane wouldn't draw so much wrong-way riding. Photo: NY Post
The NY Post's street safety coverage priorities. Photo: NY Post

The Post conveniently ignored all the benefits the Columbus Avenue redesign has brought to the Upper West Side: Shorter crossing distances for pedestrians, new concrete islands that get drivers to take turns carefully, safer biking conditions, tweaks to improve loading zones for businesses, narrower lanes and less speeding, and -- most important -- a 41 percent reduction in pedestrian injuries.

The paper tried to link the bike lane -- which creates a safe place to ride in the street -- to sidewalk riding and wrong-way cycling. Never mind that sidewalk riding is down: Only 2.3 percent of riders on Columbus currently use the sidewalk, a drop from before the lane was installed, according to DOT.

There's no evidence that wrong-way riding is any more or less frequent than it used to be either, but if northbound cycling is prevalent on the southbound Columbus Avenue bike lane, there's a good reason: There is no northbound protected bike lane on the Upper West Side. The Post actually makes a good case for a companion protected lane on Amsterdam, which would give cyclists a safer route heading uptown and draw wrong-way bike traffic off Columbus.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Why No BRT For NYC? Two New Reports Tackle Why Your Bus Service Sucks

Years of bus priority projects barely made a dent in speeds because Big Apple leaders won't install real bus rapid transit, two recent reports argue.

July 11, 2025

Citi Bike Riders Are Pissed About Eric Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit

Citi Bike's new 15 mph max speed limit is a bad deal for riders and a potential threat to safety, riders said.

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: Cyclists, Check Out Your Next City

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson visited London earlier this summer to check in on the Big Smoke's cycling revolution.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Just the News Edition

We've got one more workday before we can hit the beach. Plus the news.

July 11, 2025

Council To Close Instacart Loophole, Pass Delivery Industry Regulation Bills

The City Council will vote on Monday to close the "Instacart loophole" and force all app companies to pay workers a minimum wage.

July 10, 2025

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025
See all posts