the expanded station on 59th. Image via Citi Bike.
Upper West Siders are big Citi Bike users and now there’s an expanded station on the edge of the neighborhood that should make finding a bike slightly easier. The station at 59th and 10th Avenue got 24 new docks this week, meaning it now has 79 — tied for the most in the city.
We say it will make it “slightly” easier because Upper West Siders say that there are often no bikes at all in other parts of the neighborhood, even as early as 7 a.m. “The 120th station (between Claremont and Riverside) and the 116th station (between Broadway and Claremont) is regularly completely empty at 7 a.m.,” one rider wrote to us in January.
Citi Bike has attempted to remedy the shortages, but given that we still hear complaints it sounds like the problem isn’t fully solved. The company says it’s working on a broader plan to solve shortages.
“This boost in service is part of the overall infill plan announced last year, which will add 1250 more bikes and 2500 more docks at stations in Citi Bike’s busiest areas: between Canal and 59th Street and in Northern Brooklyn. As of today, February 7, the Citi Bike team will have added more than 650 additional docks at stations in Citi Bike’s busiest areas – important progress towards completing their infill goals in advance of warmer weather this spring.”
Great. We need more in the neighborhood.
How about removing some that never get used i.e. On West 82nd St. at Central Park West and W. 83rd St./84th St., Amsterdam Avenue ?
BillyNYC.
STOP with lies!!! Citi Bike publishes the data from every ride on their website for download to excel. The station at Central Park West and 82nd street had 1,636 trips start there in the month of October. I’ll let you check the other kiosk. Citi Bike should sue you for libel.
LOL –
Both of those stations empty out consistently on weekdays.
It’s funny, because when the station is empty they say, “it never gets used” (they were all used!). When the station is empty they say, “it never gets used” (all the docks were used!).
Fact is that the bikes are used multiple times per day.
The ones at 82nd and CPW get used quite a bit, judging by the fact that it is almost empty every morning when I walk by between 8-8:30. I always thought they weren’t being replaced fast enough there
uhhh…those get used all the time
Welcome news!
Ex Bloomberg set up this whole gig for his daughter…who now is really cashing out at the expensive of new Yorkers for someplace to park
Source? Proof??
Oh, JUST MORE “FAKE NEWS” !!!!!
Oh, great. More cycling sociopaths who feel exempt from traffic laws.
Why are they allowed to continue to add stands. Didn’t CB7 approve A plan. One plan. Not ever growing expansion. Stop the insanity.
I guaranty that most of these docks will remain empty. A colossal waste of space. And I say this as a frequent citibike user. The system is indeed massively successful, but their ability to reallocate bikes is terrible. I am up on 103rd, and as early as 8AM there are no bikes anywhere between 72nd and 110th street west of CPW. Yet, there are tons of bikes at that time up n Harlem. The dock on 104th and Amsterdam by the hostel must have like 50 spots, yet I have never seen more than 10 filled at any one time. They need to have workers reallocate bikes at night.
Jog over to Riverside. There are usually bikes at 104 and Riverside.
Now when will they set up a procedure for keeping these “stations” clean or will they be following the MTA’s lead?
Adding bikes at 59th and 10th does nothing to improve absolutely abysmal service on the UWS. Day after day faced with empty docks. No restocking during the day. Service this winter has been the worst ever. Discouraging for those depending on bikes for transportation.
Are there statistics of how many bike accidents / deaths and how many bike pedestrian accidents have occurred , comparing pre-citibike and current usage of bikes in Manhattan. I think that bikes have overpopulated the streets and are a danger to pedestrians. I also think that citibike stands should only be set up on sidewalks and not take away any more street space. Until the city has an A+ public transportation system, people will need cars, taxis , delivery trucks and squeezing all of these vehicles into less road space to accommodate bicyclists is making the city more congested, stressful and dangerous.
I would love to see statistics on how many pedestrians are hit when they use the bike lane as an extension of the sidewalk. People walk their dogs in the bike lane, wait for the light to turn in the bike lane, unload their cars in the bike lane, and on and on. But cyclists are the ones who get the bad rep.
The bikes have eroded the quality of life for sure
And caused congestion
What has to happen before it’s clear there is NOT
Enough space on NY streets for traffic AND
bikes?
In the spirit of Dr.Jonathan Swift,
A Modest Proposal.
Just Ban Pedestrians.
Eliminate all those pesky old people, school children, recreational walkers, folks on their way to the store or the subway.
And poof! plenty of room for cars and the insanely proliferating CitiBikes to play chicken with each other. Better yet, also wipe out baby strollers,dog-walkers, wheelchair occupants,and those dependent on Rollators.
Make the city safe for wheels!
And how many parking spots will be eliminated for the use of state-gas-tax-paying drivers?
Not enough.
The gas taxes pay for the roads so cars can travel, not for you to have free parking. I pay my rent. You want a spot, pay for it.
Upper West Siders – Humans are causing global warming! march for science!, Trump hates science!
Mayor Bloomberg: FIne, here is green technology to replace gas combustion cars and will help the environment. Plus it will make you more healthy. And we will build bike lanes to make it all possible.
Upper West Siders: WHAT! Bikeamabobs? They will kill old people! CItiBank is evil! Where will we put our cars! We need more parking for our cars! Free parking!
What take down a few trees to build a Science Education Center? We can’t allow that! Where will I walk my dog?
For such pro-science people you seem to use science only as a weapon to attack Republicans and feel smug, but when push comes to shove, you really are not pro-science. If you were, you would build the science center, get rid of the car and ride more bikes.
Hear hear! I have a dear friend who complains about empty bike lanes like it’s a sign of waste. It is…because you won’t get out of your cabs and cars and use them! Pedaling generates heat. Just wear what you’d wear to walk the street.
EXACTLY!!! More bikes less cars!!! That is the whole point. Congestion pricing = less cars = less fumes = less dust / dirt = cleaner air = cleaner homes = more exercise = healthier people and so on. Hmmm – what is wrong with this picture? NOTHING! I should feel badly that car owners have less street parking? I think not.
No matter what source of transportation is out there, cars will not be replaced point blank!!! All those citi bike stations within 2-4 blocks away from each other is unnecessary. They could put them within 1/2 a mile from each other and half of them would still be empty. Instead of taking street parking from car owners they should have mounted those bike stations on the sidewalks of Riverside and CPW from 59th St to 110th Street.
Saw a line of empty docks along the park wall on 5th Ave, and was immediately horrified that the city had installed urinals in such a spot. That’s what they look like against a dark background, but now I’m not going to be able to see them anywhere without spontaneously thinking “urinals.”