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

X-Citement: Union Boss and Streetsblog Columnist Fight Congestion Pricing War in Public

Get some popcorn and watch Charles Komanoff and union boss John Samuelsen battle on Twitter.

October 4, 2024

Seniors to City: Fix Canal Street Now!

A new series of audits on Canal Street with older New Yorkers will show again the need for change.

October 4, 2024

Friday Video: Car and Truck Drivers are the Cause of Virtually All Road Violence

A video to remind the political elite that there's a problem out there — and it ain't on two wheels.

Will Indicted Mayor Adams’s Bid to Eliminate Parking Mandates Survive Council Review?

As the City Council review proccess begins, experts say it is crucial to keep getting rid of parking mandates in the City of Yes.

October 3, 2024
See all posts