NEW YORK — The number of cyclist deaths in New York City reached a 24-year high in 2023, but Mayor Eric Adams is far from his goal of Construction of hundreds of kilometers of protected bike paths.
CBS News New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas asked the mayor on Monday why.
A protected bike path is a path with a barrier between cyclists and motor traffic. The Adams Way promised to build 300 miles in the first four years.
McNicholas pointed out to the mayor that the city had only built 58 buildings in his first two years in office and asked if more would be built.
“That’s the desire to do this. The goal is – and this is very important to me and I’ve said this time and time again – that I’m a cyclist and I enjoy riding. But there are also people who are not cyclists and we get a lot of questions from people throughout the year about how we should approach expanding bike lanes,” Adams said.
NYC’s work is “way, way, way behind”
Adams ran as a cyclist candidate in the election campaign.
“Protect the bike lanes. That’s crucial,” he said back in 2021.
But for Nina Sabghir, hope turned into disappointment.
“I think we were all very hopeful,” Sabghir said. “The work the city promised is far, far, far short of expectations.”
Sabghir suffered a fracture in her femur when a man opened the door of his parked car as she was driving east on Foster Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Ten years later, she says something is still broken.
McNicholas pointed out that he had not seen a bike path, to which Sabghir replied: “Neither did I. There is no bike path. There was no bike path then and there is no bike path now.”
While there are bike lanes on other streets in the area, city records indicate she would have to drive four kilometers from the accident scene to find the nearest protected bike lane heading east toward her destination.
NYC remains silent on its progress in 2024
The city refuses to disclose the number of miles of protected bike lanes it has built so far this year.
Sabghir is a member of a nonprofit that tracks bike lanes called Transportation Alternatives, which says it knows of only four miles that will be built in 2024. The goal, set in a city ordinance and the city’s annual street plan, is 50 miles, like last year, when the city built 32 miles.
“Many factors play a role in the construction of the cycle paths. Painting can only be done at certain times of the year. It depends on how much time our contractors have available in that year,” said Deputy Mayor Meer Joshi.
As for the number of protected bike lanes in New York City compared to the rest of the country, officials say more miles were built in the Big Apple last year than in all other major U.S. cities combined.
Will the city meet its goal this year? McNicholas posed that question to the deputy mayor, and she said the city won’t know until the end of the year, so CBS News New York Investigates should check then – and it will.
In Queens, frustration over parking is boiling over
In Bayside, Queens, residents are now frustrated by the lack of parking spaces.
“Terrible. The whole neighborhood has been completely messed up. People are desperately looking for a parking space when they come home in the evening,” said resident Gabriel Columbus.
Sabghir, however, said the mayor must do more to protect cyclists and keep his promises.
“The stupid thing is, when they say next year that our goal is 50 miles, they forget that we are already 20 miles short,” Sabghir said.
Tim McNicholas
