Appendices

Methodology

UWS Micromobility User Survey

The UWS Micromobility User Survey was conducted in English using a Google Form and distributed via email newsletters from Council Member Gale Brewer, Community Board 7, and StreetopiaUWS. The survey was also shared publicly on Twitter from the accounts of Council Member Gale Brewer and StreetopiaUWS. The survey was open from November 4th to December 31, 2022, and recieved 353 responses*.

*We recognize this survey may not have reached certain key stakeholders—working cyclists, for instance, many of whom speak Spanish as their primary language. Still, the volume of responses and diversity of data offers valuable insights into user experience and behavior that can help inform further advocacy efforts and policy decisions.

Bike Lane Field Survey

The Bike Lane Field Survey was conducted in November and December, 2022. The objective was to observe and document the conditions of every block of each bike lane on the Upper West Side as listed on the official NYC Bicycle Map [PDF]. For purposes of this survey, the Upper West Side is defined as W 59th Street to W 110th Street, and Central Park West to Riverside Drive. 

Thirty volunteers were assigned segments based on their geographic preference and availability. Each segment was approximately 1/2 mile long and consisted of several individual blocks (typically 10 N-S blocks or 5-6 E-W blocks). Surveyors could ride and observe their segment any time of day, either on the same day or on different days. Volunteers used a short Google Form to input observations separately for each block and emailed us pictures of the conditions they observed on that block.

Every block was documented at least once; 80% were documented at least twice; 49% were documented at least three times; and 43% were documented four times or more.

Vulnerable Rider Lane Ratings

The Vulnerable Rider Lane Ratings were determined by assessing the infrastructure through the eyes of a vulnerable rider. Can they use the infrastructure as intended, safely and comfortably, under all conditions?

A vulnerable rider is defined as someone for whom riding carries unique risks because of their age, ability, or circumstance. This might include children, who are less visible and have less ability to detect risks or negotiate conflicts; older adults, who might have lower visual acuity and choose to ride at slower speeds; or anyone who, for whatever reasons, has a significant concern for their personal safety. [5.1]

The six key elements for each lane—Width, Separation, Intersections, Surface, Legibility, and Continuity—were scored from 1-5, with 5 being Completely Safe for a vulnerable rider, and 1 being Not Safe at All. (When the key element was absent it was given a zero). We doubled the score for the categories most critical to safety—Separation, Intersections, and Continuity—for a total possible score of 45. The graphic ratings shown represent the percentage of actual score to total possible score.

Acknowledgments

This report was conceived by Open Plans colleagues Carl Mahaney, Director of StreetopiaUWS, and Jackson Chabot, Director of Advocacy and Organizing. 

The UWS Micromobility User Survey was developed by Carl Mahaney and Jackson Chabot, in close collaboration with Edward Amador and Olivia Pearl from Council Member Gale Brewer's office.

The Bike Lane Field Survey was coordinated by Carl Mahaney and carried out by the volunteers listed below.

This report was written by Carl Mahaney, with editing help from Claire Cox, and support from the entire Open Plans Team. 

Graphic design and website by Angel Mendoza.

Shout out to Rachel Eu for sharing her expertise in visualizing map insets for the report. And thanks to Open Plans colleague Michael Sutherland for help with data and map visualizations.

We’re grateful to Ed Pincar, DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner; Ted Wright, Director of Bicycle and Greenway Program at DOT; and the DOT Bike Unit for providing recent bike counts for Central Park West. And to Zhi He at BetaNYC for helping us collate Citi Bike ridership data. 

And special thank you to the intrepid volunteers below who collectively rode every inch of every bike lane on the Upper West Side:

Melissa King
Thomas Koo
Colin Macdonald
Surbhi Madan
Matt Norden
Mary O'Keefe
Sergii Pershyn
Kurt Rieke
Laura Sachs
Murray Schechter
Trevor Sheade
Michel van der Kloor
Christina Weyl
Katya Willard

Footnotes

[0.1] Citi Bike, which turned 10-years-old in 2023, has become a daily transportation choice for many New Yorkers. Since it’s launch a decade ago, New Yorkers have taken 180 Million Rides, and counting. (Curbed, May 2023)

[0.2] The micromobility user profile often referred to as “cargo-bike parents”—moms and dads (and caregivers) who use bicycles to transport children—has increased dramatically in the past 5-10 years, a pace that was accelerated by the pandemic. At one Brooklyn bike shop that specializes in e-bikes, 30 to 40 percent of their sales are now e-bikes built to haul passengers, a significant increase from pre-pandemic sales. (New York Times, April 2022)

[0.3] In the ZIP codes that make up the Upper West Side (10023, 10024, 10025, and 10069), residents placed 1,262,805 delivery orders between October 1 and December 31, 2021, nearly 14,000 orders per day. (Streetsblog, May 2023)

[0.4] In an Australian study, three of the top four reasons respondents cited for not using micromobility for transportation were fear of being injured or killed motor vehicles. (Treehugger, January 2023)

[0.5] Our analysis of bike count data for the Upper West Side’s three protected bike lanes found that ridership increased 150% from pre-pandemic levels (2015-2018) and 250% from 2015-2022. (See Background and History)

[0.6] A study of Sacramento California’s bike share system found that “low-income individuals, non-auto-owners, and people of color are using the service for many utilitarian and recreational trip purposes at a higher rate than others, and…are more likely to be more severely impacted if the service were to stop.” (ScienceDirect, May 2023)

[1.1] “All Ages & Abilities criteria is a national and international best practice that should be adopted for all bicycle facility design and network implementation…(this) benchmark should be applied across a city’s entire bicycle network to grow bicycling as a safe, equitable mode for the majority of people”. (NACTO: Designing for All Ages and Abilities)

[1.2] The Netherlands’ extensive cycling infrastructure was the result of a concerted decades long effort to replace car infrastructure with bicycle infrastructure. “From 1978 to 1988, the Dutch bicycle network grew by 73% — from 9,300 kilometers to 16,100 kilometers — compared to an 11% growth of the motorway network. And since then, the bicycle lane network in the Netherlands has doubled, with about 32,000 kilometers of bicycle lanes today.” (Dutch Review, June 2021)

[1.3] This estimate is based on the pace of building protected bike lanes to date (approximately 1.84 miles per year) multiplied by the approximate total mileage of streets on the Upper West Side (33 miles) less existing protected bike lanes (7 miles).

[1.4] Citi Bike set a record for weekly ridership from May 7–13, 2023 with 867,838 rides, or roughly 124,000 per day. (Streetsblog, May 2023)

[1.5] We calculated this figure by dividing the total number of rides for 2022 by the citywide service area at the time (35 square miles) and comparing that to the total number of rides on the UWS divided by the 1.9 square mile UWS service area.

[1.6] Recent bike counts for Central Park West were provided to us by the NYC DOT Bike Unit. The counts were conducted over an 18 hour period on October 25, 2022.

[1.7] The first segment of the Columbus Avenue bike lane was presented to Community Board 7 on May 11, 2010. (NYC DOT, May 2010)

[1.8] Average daily bicycle trips citywide increased from 250,000 in 2010 to 550,000 in 2021. (NYC DOT: Cycling in the City)

[1.9] UWS ridership data was collected from various DOT data sources. For data from 2015 and 2018 on Riverside Drive, West End Ave, Amsterdam Ave, Columbus Ave, and Central Park West we used the Uptown Manual Bicycle Counts. For 2022 data on Amsterdam Ave and Columbus Ave we used data from Automated Bike Counters. For 2022 data for Central Park West we used data provided to us directly from the DOT Bike Unit.

[2.1] It’s difficult to determine a precise number of total daily bicycle trips on the Upper West Side, but we can conservatively say it’s in the “thousands”. We know there were 6,500 daily Citi Bike trips alone in 2022. If Citi Bike is assumed to be 30% of all trips*, we could estimate the total number of daily trips at something closer to 20,000–25,000.

*The DOT’s Citywide Mobility Survey estimates Citi Bike trips account for 13.4% of all trips, which would put daily micromobility trips on the Upper West Side closer to 45,000–50,000. (DOT: Cycling in the City, July 2020)

[2.2] NYC DOT found that protected bike lanes improve safety for everyone, not just micromobility users. Injuries for all road users decreased by 14.8% after a protected bike lane was installed; serious injury or death decreased by 18.1% at those same locations. (NYC DOT Safety Treatment Evaluation 2015–2018)

[2.3] To assess respondents' interest and relative comfort using micromobility, we used a typology common across research and policy often referred to as the “Four Types of Cyclist”, originally developed by Roger Geller at the City of Portland, Oregon in 2006. The Geller framework separates participants into four groups relating to their interest in cycling: Strong and Fearless, Enthused and Confident, Interested but Concerned, and No Way No How. This typology can be useful in understanding riders’ (or potential riders') comfort level in certain conditions or navigating specific infrastructure, and can serve as a benchmark for increasing micromobility participation in the community studied. (Alta Planning, 2017)

[2.4] It’s a common misconception that older adults are unable, or unwilling, to use micromobility for everyday transportation due to their age or physical limitations. This mistaken belief has become entrenched socially and politically in places like the Upper West Side, and creates tension between constituencies that should be natural allies. In communities with mature cycling infrastructure that supports riders of all ages and abilities, older adults cycle at far higher rates than in New York City, with health benefits that go beyond physical exercise. This suggests it is the infrastructure, not age or ability, keeping older adults from considering micromobility as a viable transportation option on the Upper West Side. (AARP: The Senior Cycle, 2019)

[2.5] The same NYC DOT analysis cited above found, in locations where protected bike lanes had been installed, pedestrian injuries fell by 17.8% and serious injuries/deaths fell by 29.2% . (NYC DOT Safety Treatment Evaluation 2015–2018)

[3.1] The percentage refers to blocks where obstructions were noted in the short window of observation, divided by the total number of blocks observed. Because of the nature of the field survey, some blocks were observed multiple times, and conditions may have changed just before, or just after, that particular block was observed.

[5.1] The methodology for determining vulnerable riders was adapted, in part, from the user types defined in this guide: NACTO: Urban Bikeway Design Guide – Who is the “All Ages & Abilities” User?.