Bicycling in New York City

Laws

Cyclists are subject to the same traffic rules as motor vehicles (and have the same rights, too). By law, you must:

Ride in the street, not on the sidewalk, unless you are under 13.

Ride with the flow of traffic, not against it.

Stop at red lights and stop signs.

Use a white headlight, red taillight, and bell or horn.

Yield to pedestrians.

Safety

Additional safety measures you can take for a safer journey include the following:

Wear a helmet.

Don’t wear earphones (more than one is illegal).

Keep an eye on parked cars and keep your distance to avoid getting doored.

Take the road on shared lanes; bicycles have the same right to an entire lane as cars do.

Bike defensively, especially near taxis. They swerve often to pick up and let out customers, so keep your distance.

Avoid drivers’ blind spots.

Don’t swerve.

Look over your shoulder before merging or turning, even on bikeways, where other cyclists might be close behind you.

Use hand signals before making a turn.

Wear brightly colored clothing and sensible shoes.

Use your bell.

Check out the Department of Transportation’s Bike Smart guide for more detailed suggestions: nyc.gov/bikesmart. Also check out Biking Rules, by Transportation Alternatives: bikingrules.org.

Infrastructure

While the ride profiles for each of the rides contain information on biking permissions and restrictions on bridges and boardwalks, you can find additional information here:

Boardwalks: For current information on boardwalk cycling hours, check the city’s parks website for the relevant boardwalk (nycgovparks.org) or the New York City Bike Map.

Parks: For up-to-date information on auto-free park hours in Central Park, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and Silver Lake Park on Staten Island, check the city’s parks website for the relevant park. Or check the New York City Bike Map.

Bridges: For information on bridge crossings, check the New York City Bike Map and resources on the MTA’s cycling website: mta.info/bike.