Ben Fried of Streetsblog took a NYC bike share cycle for a test ride at the Navy Yard and documented his experience. The bikes look great, and the large neighborhood maps will be great for riders and pedestrians alike.

Photo from Streetsblog

An updated New York bike share map has been released. Streetsblog points out that this phased approach skips large portions of Brooklyn and all of Queens initially.

If one of the main benefits of the bike share program is to extend the public transit network, why are so many bikes being placed in areas so dense with transit? It seems like this program would serve more people if some of these bikes were moved to locations where they extend public transit rather than sit on top of it.

While I think this bike share will be a great asset for the city, I hope the planners aren’t making a mistake by concentrating the first bike stations in midtown and lower Manhattan. Even the most seasoned urban cyclists I know avoid midtown, and with a few exceptions, a person in midtown is only minutes away from a subway. As currently designed, this plan has the potential to put a lot of inexperienced cyclists on the streets (and perhaps sidewalks) of one of the most densely populated central business districts in the world. I’m concerned that this will do little to extend goodwill towards the city’s cyclists or increase ridership long term.

These suburban bicycle commuters make my dinky commute into Manhattan look like a leisurely ride in the park. It’s good to see that the city is connecting up more of the cycling paths for them.