Armando di Matteo

We really need to distinguish kinds of cyclists. They look similar ("on a bike") but have very, very different behaviors and desires, and these interact with other forms of transportation and density in different ways. - Group A: serious cyclists riding for exercise. These people want to maintain high power output and heart rate. They are riding bikes that cost > $5k (like the one in the photo). They are generally very experienced, comfortable with well-behaved traffic, and move at the speed of vehicles. They do not want to use bike lanes and every stop sign or light is an impediment to their exercise goal. They are generally deferential to pedestrians and work with cars and follow rules, but it's a different set of rules than they would use when driving. Average speed alone is ~18 mph or > 20 mph in groups. - Group B: commuters and explorers. These people just want to get from point A to B safely. They are uncomfortable around cars, and often do not understand them (think children). They benefit immensely from bike lanes and traffic calming, and in fact will often not even ride at all if those don't exist. They will follow traffic laws especially if those rules and the lighting and so on are developed with them in mind. Their average speed is something like 8–10 mph. - Group C: workers. These are couriers and food deliverers who are cycling because it is way cheaper and more versatile than a vehicle. Their goal is to move as fast as possible so as to increase their bottom line. These are the groups that have adopted e-bikes and other electric and small motor vehicles. This group is relatively new and growing and is ungoverned by custom or tradition. Unlike those in Group A, they often ride on sidewalks and at high speeds even in dense pedestrian areas, and, due to the motor assist, are often moving at speeds > 25 or even 30 mph. The law needs to respond to these groups differently. - The unfortunate reality is that the desires and needs of (A) are largely incompatible with a dense city like NYC. - Cities should do everything they can to accommodate and help out (B), especially because the benefits spill over to businesses and also help slow traffic down in ways that are legible to drivers and that don't result in individual resentment. - The law needs to be brought down like a hammer on (C), because they create the most disorder and pose the greatest danger to pedestrians.