Skip to content

Counting Bikes at the Manhattan Bridge With DOT’s New Totem (and Streetfilms)

Where would you like to see a bike counter along your route?
Counting Bikes at the Manhattan Bridge With DOT’s New Totem (and Streetfilms)

Earlier this month, NYC DOT installed the city’s first bike counter at Forsyth Plaza by the foot of the Manhattan Bridge bike path. Ride by this totem at the end of the day, and you’ll see the tally of thousands of other people who also passed through on a bicycle since midnight.

New Yorkers make an estimated 460,000 bike trips on a typical day, but bikes are small enough that you can blink and miss a pulse of bike traffic. The bike counter makes the volume of cycling tangible to people in a new way.

Clarence Eckerson went out to celebrate the totem with Bahij Chancey, who demonstrated the potential for a bike counter with a bravura volunteer effort two years ago, and other bike tabulating enthusiasts. Where would you like to see a bike counter along your route?

Photo of Ben Fried
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.

Read More:

Comments Are Temporarily Disabled

Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.

Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.

More from Streetsblog New York City

March (Parking) Madness Finals: Who Will Roll The Rock?

April 6, 2026

Monday’s Headlines: Citi Bike’s New Feature Edition

April 6, 2026

State Bill Would Stop Highway Expansions Near Vulnerable New Yorkers

April 3, 2026

Study: How Capping Vehicle Sizes Could Help Save the World

April 3, 2026

Friday’s Headlines: Margin For Terror Edition

April 3, 2026
See all posts