Manhattanites Want More Bike Lanes, Open Streets, Parks: Poll

NEW YORK CITY — Most Manhattan residents support the creation of new bike lanes, bus lanes, open streets, green space and other reforms favored by street-safety advocates, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

Among the findings, 68 percent of Manhattan residents surveyed said they supported new protected bike lanes to keep cyclists safe from traffic, and 74 percent favored expanding the Open Streets program that the city introduced last year, according to the citywide poll, commissioned by the group Transportation Alternatives and conducted by the Siena College Research Institute.

The results suggest widespread support for street-safety measures that sometimes cause neighborhood divisions for their tendency to reduce parking space and make life tougher for car drivers. (Only about 22 percent of Manhattan households own cars.)

"While the majority of our city’s streets are devoted to moving and parking vehicles, the majority of New Yorkers want streets that prioritize people," Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement.

The most overwhelming support was reserved for "more trees and greenery," which 85 percent of Manhattanites said they supported. Close behind was crosswalk safety — 84 percent of Manhattan residents said they would back changes to making it safer to cross city streets.

Other Manhattan results included:

• 56 percent support for more dedicated bus lanes
• 79 percent support for more spaces for children to play
• 74 percent support for more places to sit, such as benches
• 74 percent saying curbside outdoor restaurant seating is important to their neighborhoods

The poll surveyed registered New York City voters in all five boroughs and was conducted between November and December 2020.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs had opened the city's eyes "to the untapped potential when it comes to using our street space in more fun and more efficient ways for New Yorkers and the small businesses we need to support.

"Bike lanes and bus lanes are good policy and good politics too, and the Council will keep fighting for them," Johnson said.