There's been plenty of wild speculation surrounding whether Citibike, New York's mythical bike share program scheduled to launch in May, will be a historical triumph or a giant melee of tourist carnage and gnarled blue steel. We can't know that yet, but what we can know is that it only took until 3:30 p.m. today for the transit-starved masses to snap up 5,000 annual memberships, which went on sale yesterday.
“New Yorkers are clearly ready to take advantage of the quick, convenient travel our bike share program will provide. It’s a strong early sign of success,” Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan gloated in a statement.
One person who did not go online to purchase his $95 yearly membership was mayoral hopeful John Liu, who remains very upset that the plan does not include a mandate that riders wear helmets.
Here's an excerpt of his statement from Streetsblog:
It’s not too late to fix the City’s Bike Share program to make sure it’s safe — by requiring helmets for all riders, increasing traffic enforcement at dangerous intersections, and doing more to educate cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians alike on the rules of the road. Helmets in particular are key — according to the Department of Transportation, in 97 percent of fatal bicycle accidents in New York City the rider was not wearing a helmet.
Streetsblog goes on to point out the hypocrisy in Liu's concern for safety, citing a recent mayoral forum in which Liu apparently said that when it comes to Brooklyn and Queens, bike lanes are unnecessary, since "he’s stood watching for a long time without seeing any cyclists ride past." Huh. Guess he must have missed this one.
