Prospect Park West Bike Lane Use Continues To Soar In 2021: Data

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A pandemic-driven spike in the number of cyclists using the Prospect Park West bike lane has continued to soar in 2021, a new study found.

More than 75,000 cyclists were recorded using the Prospect Park-adjacent bike path in March 2021, a nearly 20,000 jump from the year before and a more than 25,000 spike from pre-pandemic numbers in March 2019, according to Bike New York's monthly count.

The numbers show that an increase in cycling spurred by the pandemic has not abated a year later, specifically on quieter neighborhood lanes, the organization said.

"One thing we have seen consistently since May/June last year is that the percentage increase on more neighborhood oriented bike routes like PPW has been greater than on more commuter routes like the Manhattan Bridge, or bike lanes in midtown," Bike New York spokesperson Jon Orcutt said. "That makes sense in the work-from-home environment."

All but one bike lane monitored by Bike New York saw a steady increase in the number of cyclists between the first quarter of 2020 and the start of 2021 despite a dip in February numbers likely due to more snow, according to the study.

Bike New York uses bike counters at designated cross streets to monitor the number of cyclists on Prospect Park West and Kent Avenue bike lanes in Brooklyn and Eighth Avenue, Columbus and Amsterdam paths in Manhattan.

On Prospect Park West in particular, the number of cyclists spiked by about 10,000 in January from 2019 to 2020 and again from 2020 to 2021. February saw a bump of about 8,000 riders between 2019 and 2020, and dipped close to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, according to the count.

February 2021 was one of the snowiest months on record in New York City, compared to a nearly snow-free winter in 2020.

The rising number of cyclists taking to bike paths has sparked a conversation between advocates and the city about bike lane capacity, Orcutt said.

More than 350 bikes per hour crowd the Prospect Park West lane during peak hours, according to the count.

In Manhattan, a similar surge has led to a call for widening bike paths, according to Streetsblog.

The Prospect Park West increase is the latest spike for the route, which celebrated 10 years of having a protected bike path late last year.

When it was installed, the Prospect Park lane tripled the number of cyclists on the roadway during the week and doubled the number of weekend cyclists within a year of its installation, according to the Department of Transportation.

It also significantly decreased the number of cars caught speeding on the corridor, according to DOT. Before the bike path, three out of four vehicles on Prospect Park West broke the speed limit.