The New York City Department of Transportation installed 25 miles of new protected bike lanes in 2017.
A record achievement, this marked a 35 percent increase in protected bike lanes than those installed in 2016 and nearly 50 percent more than 2015.
The city now has a 1,190-mile bicycle network designed to encourage New Yorkers to adopt sustainable modes of transportation.
In Midtown Manhattan, cycling has grown 40 percent over the past five years.
Outside Manhattan, lanes were planned with the input of community groups. The Williamsburg Bridge has 7,580 cyclists, the highest volume of the East River crossings.
Several new lanes will help offset L-train riders displaced when the Canarsie Tunnel closes in April 2019. Williamsburg Bridge traffic is expected to double at that time.
“My helmet is off to the DOT planning and construction crews that have this year shattered records with 25 miles of new protected bike lanes, part of the largest bicycle network in North America,” New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said. “Twenty years ago, the city took a big step forward with its first plan to build a bike lane network, and cycling is now growing by orders of magnitude, faster than any other mode of transportation in the city.”