The bridge bicyclist

In which The Brooklyn Bridge is conquered on a bike by a guy who is scared of heights.

Almost everyone agrees that life in Manhattan has improved greatly over the past twenty years. But why? The right-wingers credit Guiliani's crackdown on petty crime; the left-wingers point to the passage of Roe V Wade, back in the 70's which brought birth control to the poor; 20 years later the crime rate plunged. Meanwhile, cycling has grown exponentially and the city has sprouted bicycle paths along both waterfronts and over several major bridges. I know young cyclists who commute from Brooklyn and seldom set foot in the Subways.

Guiliani's point was that people had to feel safe in their own neighborhoods. He put extra police on the streets--in the hope that people would eventually venture out again. Years later cyclists took a different route to "reclaiming the streets," filling the neighborhoods with smiling bike riders.

Could it be that the lowly bicylce has transformed Manhattan?

Thanks to Steve Fox for the Brooklyn Bridge link