[yalph]

I dont really want to hurt people’s feelings but why do we care about this topic so much? I am kind of confused about why people are so passionate about bike lanes. Isn't it better if we focus on improving the subway and the bus lines before anything? I would like to see an open minded discussion about the pros and cons of this.

[TulliusCicero]

Bikes are good/useful in a number of ways. They're a form of individual transport, like walking or driving, with the advantages that that has over public transport -- namely, less waiting, point to point, not beholden to a schedule that might not match your schedule -- and they slot in nicely between walking and driving as a compromise between the strengths and weaknesses of both. Much faster and longer range than walking, more cargo capacity, but still much cheaper than driving, and without most of the issues cars have with things like generating noise, pollution, and danger.

Bikes are also healthy for people, and they're certainly more space-efficient than cars. Oh, and they're vastly less expensive for the city as well; building subways is enormously capital intensive, and buses have high ongoing operating expenses. Good quality bike infrastructure isn't exactly cheap...except that compared to high quality car or transit infrastructure, yeah it is relatively cheap.

So, altogether, replacing car space with bike space makes a ton of sense, especially for a city as dense as NYC. Sure, bus and subways improvements should happen too, but there's so much car space that's wasteful, and bike stuff is so cheap, that it's really low hanging fruit. No good reason not to develop it.

[unethical_ban]

It's easier to get around on bikes than walking. The easier "not using a car in an urban area" is, the better.

Building bike lanes can also be used for scooters and other kinds of non-auto transport.

Finally, mass transit is an order of magnitude more difficult to plan and implement, as effective MT needs to not only coexist with vehicles, but pre-empt them at intersections. Otherwise, they're slow and no one uses them.

Most cities in the US will never have a subway, so the only option is light-rail or protected bus lanes.

[pedantsamaritan]

I am reminded of this comic, where bike and transit advocates fighting each other for scraps of money and attention as much as physical space: https://i.redd.it/4nf27uf5dri11.jpg

I do think there is overlap in bike lane interest and public transit. TransAlt's mission, for example, "is to reclaim New York City's streets from the automobile and advocate for better bicycling, walking, and public transit for all New Yorkers." I'm pretty sure they were helpers on the 14th St bus way pilot.

[randyrand]

easy: My bike is 2x faster than a SF bus, goes door to door, is nearly free, and operates 24 hours a day.