New Yorkers’ love of bicycling, embraced as a safe travel alternative during the pandemic shutdowns of 2020, continues to grow in 2021.
Cyclist counts on East River bridges climbed to an average of 25,431 per day in June, 11.4 percent higher than June 2020, which was already well ahead of pre-pandemic 2019 numbers, according to the Department of Transportation. The data looked at non-holiday weekdays without precipitation.
City officials expect a growing number of people to pedal each month through September, as they did last year. Bike traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge, for example, peaked at 288,846 riders in September 2020 – a stunning rise of 39 percent over September 2019.
“There’s been a significant shift toward cycling since the beginning of the pandemic, a trend that is continuing as the city recovers,” DOT spokesman Brian Zumhagen told The Post.
The city plans to add an additional 30 miles of protected bike lanes by the end of 2021, while mayoral candidate Eric Adams last month vowed to embrace pedal power if he’s elected in November.
The increase in cyclists has also led to an increase in problems, especially associated with speedy e-bikes. The city counted 20 e-bike fatalities in 2020 compared with just six in 2019. Actress Lisa Banes died last month from injuries sustained in an e-bike accident.