If you live in any major city or suburb in the U.S., you may have noticed more and more parents hauling their kids around on bulky cargo bicycles. Some families are ditching their second car, forgoing a minivan, or going car-free altogether. Cargo bikes have been around for more than a century and they're popular elsewhere on the globe. But until a few years ago, they were all but forgotten in North America. Now they're making a comeback.
The Complete Streets project along Richmond Street aims to lower car speeds and improve pedestrian safety through various installations including raised intersections, corner extensions, and flashing crosswalk signals.
The proposed road improvements aim to enhance pedestrian safety on El Monte Avenue, reducing traffic lanes and adding features like buffered bike lanes and refuge islands.
"Cities that are truly great for biking have more than protected lanes and calm streets - they have a vision and a plan for continuous improvement," said Grace Stonecipher, infrastructure analyst and research manager at PeopleForBikes.
"Safer streets and better public transit continue to be winning issues for politicians," said Eric McClure, executive director of StreetsPAC, who openly taunted former Gov. Andrew Cuomo hours after his defeat by transit champion Zohran Mamdani.
"Bike lanes restrict road space. They have turned streets into parking lots, with residents unable to shop, get their kids to events, and seriously impact emergency services and Wheel-Trans."
