From: Evan Carfagno, Bike Master Team To: Mayor Bill Di Blasio, New York City Subject: Bike Lanes in New York City Date: 04/14/18 Recommended Action The City of New York should continue to support Citi Bike and bike lanes. This system increases the prosperity and health of New Yorkers. By linking Citi Bike and the MTA, it can be used as a force multiplier for positive externalities such as increased prosperity and health of New Yorkers and a lowering of greenhouse gas emissions. Issues Biking itself has many great benefits. It is a leisure activity good for mental health. Biking promotes a healthy lifestyle by getting people off their couches and into their neighborhood. This sense of adventure arguably helps one’s mental health. Speaking to physical health, studies have shown that biking prevents heart disease and reduces incidence of diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer and depression. Finally in looking at …show more content…
Financial viability of bike sharing programs can be strongly affected by weather conditions. In a strong winter such as 2013-2014, ridership can be low. In large storms such as Nor’easters or Hurricane Sandy, bicycles and stations can be damaged. Currently there is also a social equity issue regarding Citi Bike. As of July 2014, Citi Bike is only in Manhattan; which leaves the other five boroughs without the option of using Citi Bike. Implementing bike sharing programs like Citi Bike in New York City is different than in other large cities. The population density of New York City is 27,000 people per square mile, more than double the density of Chicago or Toronto. Because of this density, it is difficult to find space for storage of bikes or bike kiosks. Also the public-private partnership (PPA) is a financial mechanism that is different than funding mechanisms in other cities. For example Toronto BikeShare is operated by the Toronto Parking Authority instead of a PPA