> NEW YORK HAS A TRANSIT PROBLEM BUT EVERYONE KNOWS OF THE DELAY AND THE TREND.

WHAT ABOUT THE THIRD POPULAR OPTIONS?

ARE CITY STREETS BIG ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE?

THEY CAN BE DOWNRIGHT DEADLY.

TODAY THERE WAS A RALLY IN BROOKLYN TO FIND TWO DRIVERS AND TWO HIT-AND-RUN CASES THAT RESULTED IN TWO FATALITIES IN JUST 48 HOURS THIS WEEKEND.

RAMIREZ WAS RIDING HIS BICYCLE WHEN HE WAS STRUCK AND KILLED AT GREEN POINT SATURDAY.

THE DRIVER HAS NOT COME FORWARD.

ON SUNDAY ALEJANDRO TEJO WAS KILLED BY AN SUV.

HE WAS LEFT INJURED ON THE ROAD AND DIED A FEW HOURS LATER.

TODAY BROOKLYN COUNTY MEMBERS GATHERED TO DEMAND THE MOTORISTS TURN THEMSELVES IN.

HERE IN MANHATTAN MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE TAKING BICYCLES TO GET AROUND THE CITY.

BIKE LANES HAVE BECOME THE NORMS ON THE AVENUE BUT WHAT ABOUT CROSS TOWN STREETS.

RECENTLY, TWO CYCLISTS WERE KILLED.

BUT, IN THE CITY WITH LIMITED SPACE FOR EVERYONE TO GET AROUND, ARE MORE BIKE LANES THE ANSWER?

JOINING US IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ALTERNATIVES OF A CITY NONPROFIT ADVOCATING FOR BICYCLES AND IMPROVED TRANSIT.

PAUL WHITE.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A CYCLIST IN NEW YORK CITY?

IT IS GETTING MUCH BETTER.

IT STARTS WITH MAYOR BLOOMBERG.

AND MAYOR DEBLASIO CONTINUING OF MORE PROTECTED BIKE LANES AND HIS VISION ACROSS THE BOARD WE ARE SEEING REDUCTIONS AND YOU KNOW TRAFFIC CASUALTIES.

THE STATE RIGHT NOW IS THAT SO MANY ARE RISING AND THERE IS A GROW REALIZATION THAT OUR STREETS NEED TO CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.

SO MANY NEW YORKERS ARE ARRIVING, DO WE HAVE A ROUGH IDEA?

ON A CITY BIKE ALONE, THEY'RE SEEING 60,000 RIDERS.

WOW.

AND, OVERALL WE ARE SEEING ABOUT 200,000 NEW YORKERS ON THEIR BIKES ON A NICE, SUNNY DAY LIKE TODAY.

OKAY.

[ LAUGHTER ]

THAT'S A BIG NUMBER AND WE ARE SEEING PEOPLE RIDING FOR MANY, MANY DIFFERENT REASONS AND COMMUNICATING.

A LOT OF NEW YORKERS HAVING NOT JUST ONE COMMUTER DURING THE DAY BUT A LOT OF TRIPS.

BICYCLING IS FLEXIBLE AND ALLOWING PEOPLE TO GET WHERE THEY NEED TO GO AND A LOT SAFER.

PEOPLE ARE PICKING UP ON THAT AND NOT SAFE ENOUGH.

WE HAVE SEEN THE FIRST CITY'S BIKE DEATHS A FEW WEEKS AGO AND SUCH A TRAGEDY.

IN MOST CASES IT IS NOT THE BICYCLISTS DOING SOMETHING WRONG, IT IS FAILURES OF OUR STREETS TO PROTECT BIKE RIDERS.

THE QUESTION IS, WHERE DOES THE SPACE COME FROM?

EXACTLY.

THERE WAS AN UPROAR OF BIKE LANES, DEDICATED BIKE LANES AND ANYTHING DOWNTOWN, SOMEBODY THAT IS TO LOSE OR DOES EVERYBODY WIN?

I DON'T KNOW.

IT DEPENDS ON THE STREETS.

SOMETIMES THE ROOM ARE ALREADY THERE AND EASING OUT A BIKE LANE.

NEW LANE MAKES TRAFFIC FLOWS BETTER.

BIKERS ARE THERE ALREADY AND PEOPLE ARE GETTING IN THE WAY.

YOU MAKE A BIKE LANE THERE AND PEOPLE KNOW WHERE EVERYONE BELONGS.

IN SOME CASES, YES, IT IS NECESSARY TO TAKE THAT SPACE FOR PARKING OR FROM OTHER MODE OF TRAVEL.

RECOGNIZING THAT BICYCLING AND BUS TRAVELING LIKE WALKING IS THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO GET AROUND.

IT IS NON POLLUTING AND WE SHOULD MAKE ROOM FOR IT.

SHOULD THE CITY BE REGULATING IT?

I AM SURE A LOT OF DRIVERS WHO ARE WATCHING ARE GOING TO SAY, I HAD THIS BIKER WHO JUST CUT ME OFF OR WHATEVER.

SHOULD THERE BE MORE REGULATIONS OF WHAT IT IS THE BICYCLISTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR?

THERE NEEDS TO BE A BETTER CODE OF CONDUCT ON OUR STREETS FROM BICYCLISTS OBEYING TRAFFIC LAWS LIKE ERCHL EVERYONE ELSE.

PEDESTRIANS ARE THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN WHICH THEY SHOULD BE IN NEW YORK CITY.

THAT'S WHAT IS KILLING PEOPLE.

THAT'S WHY WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT THE MAYOR'S PROGRAM.

THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE FACT THAT THE STREETS ARE BEING REDESIGNED WITH PROTECTED SPACE AND WALKERS AND BIKERS WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE AND CRACKING DOWN ON THE KIND OF BEHAVIOR THAT'S INJURING PEOPLE LIKE RECKLESS DRIVING AND SPEEDING AROUND SCHOOLS OR NOT YIELDING.

THESE ARE THE KINDS OF OFFENSES THAT ARE NOW BECOMING DRUNK DRIVING LIKE YEARS AGO.

WOW.

IT USED TO BE THINGS THAT PEOPLE DID, THAT'S AN INCIDENT.

NO, RECKLESS DRIVING IS THE NEW DRIVING AND WE HAVE TO STIGMATIZE THAT BEHAVIOR.

GOING FORWARD, YOU ARE SAYING WOULD ACTUALLY HELP TRAFFIC FLOW BETTER THAN DOES THAT MEAN THIS -- IS THAT PART OF THE CITY'S TRANSPORTATION OF THE FUTURE?

YOU POINTED OUT --

EVERYONE THINKS ABOUT THAT WHEN THEY THINK OF TRANSPORTATION.

OTHER WORLD CLASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS, WE DON'T CONTROL THE SUBWAY.

IT IS ALBANY AND THE GOVERNOR TO DECIDE.

THAT'S REALLY HAND STREAMS US IN TERMS OF WHAT WE CAN DO TO MOVE PEOPLE ESPECIALLY THE GOVERNOR IS NOT GIVING US LEADERSHIP THAT WE NEED.

IT IS ABOUT GETTING OUT OF OUR SERVICE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.

THE MAYOR CAN CONTROL THAT AND GIVING PEDESTRIANS MORE SPACE WHEN PEOPLE ARE WALKING.

MOST BUS TRIPS ARE LESS THAN THREE MILES.

THEM ARE LESS THAN FIVE MILES.

WE ARE NOT SUGGESTING BICYCLING IS THE ANSWER TO ALL OF THIS.

BICYCLING CAN CARRY A LOT OF THE VOTES.

SO IS THIS SOMETHING WHERE YOU SEE BICYCLING, I DON'T WANT TO SAY SEEING IT AS THE FUTURE OF TRANSIT CITY.

BUT ALLEVIATING SOME OF TL PRESSURE ON SOME OF THE OTHER SYSTEMS THAT MAYBE NOT GETTING THE ATTENTION.

IT IS GOING TO TAKE FERRIES AND BETTER BUSSERS AND WALKING AND HIGHER OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.

BIKING IS APART OF THAT MIX AND THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET TO THE TRANSIT WORLD BUT IT IS BECOMING A BIG OPTION AND MORE NEW YORKERS ARE DISCOVERING AND HOW IT IS TOTALLY EFFICIENT AND CONVENIENT.

I STARTED RIDING MY BIKE TO NEW YORK BECAUSE IT IS FUN.

I WANT TO SAY WHAT IS -- I WANT TO ASK YOU WHAT ARE SOME OF SUGGESTIONS.

AND GOING FORWARD IN KEEPING CYCLING.

FIRST OF ALL, IT IS GREAT TO SEE IT AND THERE IS A REALIZATION THAT SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE.

WE CANNOT BLAME VICTIMS.

WE HAVE TO HAVE AT LEAST SOME CROSS STREETS PROVIDING PROTECTIONS FOR BICYCLISTS.

WE ARE SEEING KIDS GETTING TO SCHOOL AND GETTING PRESCRIPTION TO DOCTORS AND THEY CANNOT MAKE THOSE PRESCRIPTIONS A REALITY WITHOUT INFRASTRUCTURES.

WE CANNOT HAVE PEOPLE PARKING THERE AND IT HAS TO BE LOADING ZONE AND PICK UP DROP BOX AND INCREASINGLY USING THE SPACE FOR THOSE THAT'S USING IT EFFICIENTLY.

LISTEN, PAUL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME DOWN TO SPEAK WITH US AND WE ARE GOING TO BE WATCHING TO FIND OUT WHAT THE CITY DOES.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON.