In recent weeks, thanks to a generous donation by the Friends of the Westchester County Parks, thousands of cyclists have been able to enjoy the popular Bicycle Sundays program on the Bronx River Parkway on Sundays. The popularity of bicycling in Westchester highlights the need for an inexpensive new program that would encourage more cyclists to take advantage of the bike paths in our county and scenic back roads.
Almost every major city and transit system in the United States have placed bike racks on their buses. Chicago, Seattle, Detroit, Cedar Rapids, St Louis, NJ Transit, Arizona, Florida communities, and many other localities have bike racks on buses. Westchester & NYC transit are among the handful that do not. This is unfortunate.
Bike racks are not very expensive. A new bike rack costs a few hundred dollars each. Most bike racks are affixed to the front of a bus and can hold two bicycles of standards size. In the communities that have bicycle racks on buses delays are insignificant. Bike racks on buses would encourage more people to commute to work using a mixture of public transportation and cycling. Bike racks on buses will reduce traffic congestion. Bike racks on buses could save lives. Less experienced cyclists could take the bus on busy roads and get off near bike paths or back roads. Its a way to integrate public transit and cycling.
If Westchester County does not want to fund the inexpensive bike racks on buses - I suggest that the county Department of Parks or Transportation solicit private dollars to pay for a pilot program on select buses. The cost would not be that much. If the program is successful it could be expanded to our entire county bus fleet.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor