Bicycle Safety

DOT has striped and painted an important greenway connection on one block of East 37th Street, which received the support of Manhattan Community Board 6 last month. DOT began installing the bike lane this week, and the agency says the full project will be complete by the end of next week.

When Citi Bike launched last year, ridership numbers quickly surpassed levels seen in other cities. New York's system had a number of advantages -- more stations, more bikes, more places to go, and more potential customers, for starters. But there's another reason so many people felt comfortable hopping on the blue bikes: For years before bike-share's launch, the city had been installing miles of protected bike lanes on several key north-south avenues in the Citi Bike service area.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance dropped assault charges against a hit-and-run driver accused of intentionally ramming a cyclist with an SUV, allowing the defendant to plead guilty to leaving the scene and pay a small fine, according to court documents and the victim's attorney, Steve Vaccaro.

Three years ago, NYPD recommended a mandatory helmet law for all cyclists. While the proposal gained traction among some elected officials, it did not receive support from the Bloomberg administration. The de Blasio administration said yesterday that it won't back a mandatory helmet law, either. While a helmet law isn't on the agenda now, it's a troubling sign that NYPD was so recently in favor of a policy with no proven safety benefit but plenty of potential to discourage cycling.

Update: Moström was removed from life support a week after the crash, according to the Post.

It's going to become safer and easier to access the East River Greenway, thanks to a vote last night by Manhattan Community Board 6. In a surprisingly drama-free meeting, the board backed the recommendation of DOT and its own transportation committee for a two-way bike path on a single block of 37th Street, connecting the greenway to First Avenue.

The very first Streetfilm was released 10 years ago, for a campaign that's on the verge of a major milestone today.

Contrary to the would-be bikelash revivalists among the city press corps, a new study finds that injuries to pedestrians hit by cyclists are on the decline in NYC.

What began as an ad hoc fix for a bike lane chronically clogged by cars has become permanent after DOT installed a block-long barrier on the Bergen Street bike lane in front of the 78th Precinct in Prospect Heights.