The day after the Department of Transportation released a report showing a modest increase in city cyclists (PDFs here and here), a federal judge blocked the city's plan to enforce strict emission standards on taxis that would have taken effect this Saturday. The two developments are indicative of the city's stop-and-start progress in its effort to "green" transportation in the five boroughs.
The cycling screenline count tracked bike traffic on 16 of the city's north-south arteries during three seperate 18-hour intervals in May, August and Septermber and found that cyclists increased from 53,003 in 2007 to 56,203 in 2008, a 6 percent increase of 3,200. Bike traffic slowed considerably on Broadway, dropping from 1,123 in September 2007 to 656 in September 2008, but it also increased sharply on Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Ninth Avenue, where a divided bike path was erected in the fall of 2007. read more »
