New York is building new bike lanes, but not the usual kind. And that is why it is of interest to personal injury attorneys, since those in the field are accustomed to looking at an accident, and asking why something wasn’t safer.
The video at this link runs for only two minutes, and shows the recent change to Ninth Avenue in Manhattan, and the new separation between drivers and bikers, with a lane of parked cars between the two. It shows something every city should be doing to enhance safety (among other benefits).
It should be notable when things change for the better. New York’s Mayor Mike Bloomberg apparently “gets it.” The bike lane is currently only seven blocks long, but the Department of Transportation is calling it the street of the future.
Between 1996 and 2003 there were 225 fatalities and 3,500 injuries to bikers.
It’s easy to complain when things go wrong from a safety standpoint. In fact, that is much of what attorneys do. And applauding when things are done right often falls by the wayside. Well, I see something being done right, and New York deserves the acclaim.
Addendum: Now that I figured out how to add the video clip, here it is: