As spring blossoms in the city, New Yorkers take to their bicycles again to get about the city. With increased ridership, the city’s existing bicycle infrastructure is put under closer scrutiny. Since 2000, bicycle commuting has quadrupled, which has been tracked since 1985. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero campaign has promised the constructions of 50 miles of bike lanes every year.

The Belmont neighborhood in the Bronx has been underserved by this initiative. Local business owners are spearheading a plan to create more bike infrastructure, but have met resistance from unprogressive local community leaders. According to the DOT, bike parking increases business.

Here is what it looks like.

I want to scrape some data to determine the miles of bike lanes per residents in each borough to calculate a metric of accessibility. I also want to give the story context through the Belmont neighborhood.

Contacts:

Councilman Ritchie Torres

Frank Franz, Belmont BID President

Ivine Galarza,  Community Board 6 Manager

Brian Zumhagen, Transportation Alternatives

Gloria Chin, DOT