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

SEE IT: Streetfilms Shows How Much Better Kids’ Lives Are When they Can Safely Bike To School…

This is reality — and it’s why so few kids actually bike to school. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Biking is cheap, fast, promotes independence and exploration, is great exercise, and, for the most part, it's fun. So why don't more kids bike to school (when it's open of course)?

The reason, of course, is because bicycling in New York City is dangerous.

Let's put that another way: Biking in New York City is really unsafe.

Twenty-nine cyclists were killed last year. And we're on pace for just as many this year.

But what if it wasn't that way? What if cycling was so safe that, well, a child could do it?

Streetfilms documentarian Clarence Eckerson Jr. and StreetopiaUWS Executive Director Lisa Orman asked the same question and found that when kids and parents believe that cycling is safe — thanks to the kind of protected infrastructure enjoyed by most Manhattanites below 110th Street — kids not only will bike to school, but they want to bike to school.

Which is better for everyone, especially the kids, who benefit from time away from screens, feeling more connected to nature and the city, and also exploring their own independence.

So meet six kids who, for now, are the lucky ones. Imagine how great this city could be if every kid had a commute like Erik, Eleanor, Arielle, Arjun, Alex and Grace...

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Assembly Member Ditches Her Car — and Discovers The Good Side of Albany

"I love Albany now," says the Greenpoint lawmaker, who ditched her car. Will others follow? Well, Gov. Hochul offered a start...

May 22, 2025

Public Demands Safer West Side Highway at Packed Workshop

Seemingly all in attendance agreed that the existing bike and pedestrian path isn't cutting it and ought to be expanded.

May 22, 2025

‘The Biggest Complaint’? The Real Stories Behind NYPD Commissioner Tisch’s Bike Crackdown

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has said cops are only targeting reckless e-bike use in six offenses along 14 key corridors. This is simply not true. Here are some stories from the front lines.

May 22, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Car-First Fifth Avenue Edition

The city's much-compromised redesign of Fifth Avenue is going to cost $550 million for some reason. Plus more news.

May 22, 2025

‘Cart Before Horse’: Upper West Siders Demand NYPD Halt Bike Crackdown

Here's a different kind of community feedback for Commissioner Tisch.

May 21, 2025

Proudly Anti-Safety: Brooklyn Pol Boasts of Getting DOT To ‘Pause’ Long Promised Bike Lanes

Even painted bike lanes are too "woke" for the MAGA warrior of Southern Brooklyn, Council Member Inna Vernikov.

May 21, 2025
See all posts