Tragedy after tragedy — 17 cyclists have already lost their lives on New York City streets this year, far surpassing the number who died in all of 2018.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says he has a plan. He's calling it the "Green Wave."
"I am emphasizing that this crisis we are going through is absolutely unacceptable," de Blasio said at the proposal unveiling Thursday. "For the first time, we are committing this city to a truly citywide … protected bike lane network."
City officials say it will include a citywide network of bike lanes. Officials hope to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes a year:
The proposal includes cracking down on reckless drivers at 100 of the city's most dangerous intersections, and redesigning intersections to make them more cyclist-friendly.
"The plan we are putting forward today is robust and ambitious, a plan for improving safety and the riding experience for cyclist," City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said at the unveiling.
The city will also experiment with timing traffic lights to stay green so cyclists don't have to continually stop.
This is not the first time the de Blasio Administration has put forward a plan for bike safety; it announced something similar in 2017.
Biking advocates gave this new proposal positive reviews, even if the mayor is not exactly the most avid cyclist.
"We are inviting the mayor to join him and the rest of our organization and bicyclists from New York on a bike ride so he can actually see what the street conditions are like," Transportation Alternatives Co-Deputy Director Marco Conner said. "I think it's a problem that the mayor has barely been on a bicycle. This is a means of transportation."
De Blasio: I have gotten on a bike.
Gross: But will you do this ride with them?
De Blasio: I do understand a lot of the challenges, and one day I look forward to doing that. But again, the issue more importantly is to act.
Even so, the mayor does not seem like he is trading in his city car anytime soon.
"I rode a bike with Polly on the boardwalk. Fabulous experience. But I am trying to remember if there was a time since then. I'm not sure," the mayor said.
Some might expect to hear some complaints from motorists. When the transportation department commissioner was asked how many parking spots would be lost as part of this plan, she said potentially thousands.
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