Cyclists are not to blame - Or at least, rarely.

Gregory sends us this article from treehugger.

"While there is a public perception that cyclists are usually the cause of accidents between cars and bikes, an analysis of Toronto police collision reports shows otherwise: The most common type of crash in this study involved a motorist entering an intersection and either failing to stop properly or proceeding before it was safe to do so. The second most common crash type involved a motorist overtaking unsafely. The third involved a motorist opening a door onto an oncoming cyclist. The study concluded that cyclists are the cause of less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents in this study...." Read more

Bike Sharing Comes to New York

if only for a few weekends....

NYC Bicycle Access/Parking Legislation Passes

A while back, I posted about these two pieces of legislation - and now they've passed!

780 requires every parking garage that holds at least 100 cars provide spaces for bicycle parking as well.  They must provide not less than 1 bicycle space for every 10 car spaces and the spaces must have secure racks for locking.  You can read the full text here.

871 allows tenants of commercial buildings to request a "bicycle access plan" from the building owner.  The submission of a request requires the building owner to either complete and implement an access plan or file for an exemption within 30 days.  You can read the full text here.

These are really powerful pieces of legislation that could change the face of cycling in New York City and we're really glad to see they've passed.

Here's the update as received from the City Council:

August 3, 2009

  

Dear New Yorker,

 

Good news!  Last week the New York City Council took steps toward creating a more sustainable transportation infrastructure in our city by passing two important pieces of legislation:

 

• Intro. 0780-A (Koppell) - bicycle parking in garages and parking lots.

• Intro. 0871-A (Yassky) - bicycle access in commercial buildings.

 

One of the main obstacles to bicycle commuting is the inability to park your bicycle in a secure location once you have arrived at work.  

 

These bills address this problem by improving bicycle access in commercial buildings and creating thousands of bicycle parking spaces in city garages and parking lots.  The legislation also encourages cycling by creating a bicycle commuting task force that will explore partnerships with private entities to build sheltered bicycle parking in public and/or private spaces.  The task force will issue its report by December 31, 2010.

 

Together, these proposals will improve public health, reduce carbon emissions, and provide a more affordable option for New Yorker's daily commute.

 

If you would like additional information or have any questions about this new legislation, please contact Nick Rolf of the community outreach staff at (212) 442-5765.  You may also e-mail him directly at nrolf@council.nyc.gov. 

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn

Speaker

New York City Council

 

G. Oliver Koppell

Council Member 

New York City Council

 

David Yassky

Council Member

New York City Council