Depending on which side of the bike lane debate you fall on, you may see it as a simple matter of self-absorbed yupsters trying to force their radical anti-car beliefs on salt-of-the-earth New Yorkers. Or maybe you view the issue as another case of close-minded old cranks standing in the way of progress?

An online urban journal recently documented the ongoing struggle between bike lane advocates and long time residents over control of the traffic lanes that crisscross all five boroughs.

Next American City reporter Brian Browdie used last year’s fight over a proposed bike lane on Bay Ridge Parkway – one which ended with Community Board 10 voting against it – as a textbook example of just how wide transportation preferences can vary among residents of different neighborhoods. And while those opinions may indicate larger socioeconomic and generational gaps, they are often formed as a result of geographic rather than cultural factors, such as the population density and the distance from Manhattan of a given area. Continue reading »