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US: New Yorkers choosing bicycle lane over car lane - more than ever

The number of people choosing to cycle to and from work jumped 26 percent from last year, says a City transportation study released Monday.

Source:

City of New York / Daily News.com (www.nydailynews.com) / Warren Salomon on 16.11.2009

"Cycling in the City continues growing rapidly as our bike network expands and becomes safer," said Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
The surge in bike use comes months after the completion of a three-year plan to add 200 miles of bike lanes to the city's streets, bringing the total to 420 miles.
"This is great news," said spokesman Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, a cycling advocacy group. "It shows that New Yorkers are just as likely to hop on a bicycle as they are to get on a bus or hail a taxi."
This year's increase follows a similar leap in the number of commuting bikers from 2007 to 2008, when the number shot up 32 percent.
To highlight safety, transportation officials handed out free light kits to cyclists on their dark evening commutes yesterday as they exited the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges.
Norvell agrees safety is increasingly an issue. "There's a big burden of responsibility on New York City's drivers to look out for the little guy," he said.