My NYC Biking Story: Steve O’Neill
Prospect Heights resident Steve O'Neill has been biking most of his 15 years living in New York City. Last year he added to his daily roundtrip commute to Columbus Circle by dropping his son Beckett off at school, and the new Prospect Park West bike lane helps him do that safely.
As a subway trip it took 30 minutes, a subway transfer and nearly 200 steps, but by using the bike Beckett gets to school in just ten minutes. He enjoys it and Steve says, "the last time I didn't ride it was winter and it was really snowy and he was begging to go on the bike instead of the subway."
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Steve O’Neill: [00.16] I’ve been living in New York City for 15 years and biking for most of those. For me it’s the easiest and most fun way to get around. We started biking everyday this year because my son’s school is a 30 minute subway ride with about 200 steps up and down versus a ten minute bike ride, so it just made sense for our family. The new Prospect Park West bicycle lane has been a big help in our commute to school. It happens to be right on the way from our house to his school, and it goes directly where we need to go. We come back the other way without having to go the long way around the park, and of course it’s very, very safe there, and it’s also a nice way for us to have some quality time together.
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Steve O’Neill: [01:02] Riding a bike in New York City is great. The more you do it, the more you run into friends that you know. It seems like I see someone on the Manhattan Bridge at least once a week, or I’d just run into people on the streets and we can chat. Now, even over the winter, just astounding numbers of cyclists are riding over the bridge. It seems like a non-stop stream of cyclists during rush hour.
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Steve O’Neill:
[01:24] When I first started cycling here 15 years ago, I couldn’t
imagine taking a kid out anywhere in New York City really besides the
park. So the way the infrastructure is now it gives every person
who lives in New York City another option of a way to get around.
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