If New York City Can Be Bike Friendly, Every City Can

Posted by Angie Luvara, NEW YORK, NY-- One of the biggest transitions I had to make in my move to Atlanta last year was getting used to driving in this city. Not only is the traffic out of control, but people drive like maniacs here. Now that I’m on the verge of getting a bicycle to use as my primary mode of transportation, I've become even more aware of how scary and biker unfriendly Atlanta roads are. I recently took a trip to New York City -- another city scary to drive in -- and I noticed that there were bike lanes everywhere. In many cases, like the one I captured above, the bike lanes were actually located between the sidewalk and the parked cars, providing an extra safety measure for bikers.  The extent of New York City's bike lanes surprised me, especially in contrast with the few bike lanes I know of in Atlanta. New York is one of the most densely populated cities around, with its own unique set of traffic issues. If this city can take measures to make their bikers safe, can’t every city? There is a Transportation Referendum coming up for vote that would fund transportation improvements in the greater Atlanta area. I hope it includes bike lanes.

Angie Luvara is a photographer and Managing Editor of Social Shutter. She is also a Doctoral Student at Georgia State University. To view more of her photography, go to her blog at http://www.LuvIsMyAmmo.com/blog.