“Take the Lane vs. Thanks for the Lane”, the Economics, Politics and Health Inequalities of Bicycle Infrastructure in Newark and New York, 1980-2015
by C.W. Sleasman
Site Description:
Prior to the ubiquity of the automobile in Newark and Manhattan, the bicycle was seen as a brilliant mode of transportation by those who adopted the machine into their lives. Early cyclists of both cities came together in order to create better riding conditions for themselves and in the process contributed greatly to early bicycle and pedestrian centered infrastructure solutions that also provided escape from turn of the century emissions and pollution. Despite massive infrastructure upheavals, political pushback and the dominance of the car, the bicycle managed to leave a lasting impression within Manhattan while in Newark it was sidelined and brushed into the dustbin of history. This project seeks to find out why that happened and what consequences have arisen from the environmental inequalities that have developed since. As we shall see, the development of infrastructure in cities is dependent on decisions that have economic, political and health consequences for their citizens. Lastly, by understanding the successes that have transformed the pedestrian and cycling accessibility of New York City, I will provide commentary on what Newark can do and has done to improve these areas of infrastructure for their citizens.
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Primary Sources:
Primary Sources:
- https://www-jstor-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/stable/j.ctvzcz5h4
Nye, Peter. 2020. Hearts of Lions : The History of American Bicycle Racing. Second edition. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
This is an extensive source of bicycle racing in the US. It covers the beginning of bicycling in America starting as a craze and how it slowly evolved into a more organized sport. With the evolution of the sporting aspect of cycling, recreation and pedestrianism flourished. There’s a very relevant section in chapter 4, that details how prestigious it was to be racing in Newark, New Jersey and then a following section detailing the New York Madison Cycling Events (which is where the Madison Square Garden got its name). I will be using this as a historical callback to where cycling was at this time as it relates to what bicycling became from the 1980s to the 2010s within Newark and New York City.
2. “Newark Bike Plan 2014,” https://bikenewark.files.wordpress.com, accessed February 28, 2024, https://bikenewark.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/newarkbikeplan.pdf.
This bike plan for Newark from 2014 is a more modern source for the kind of infrastructure planning Newark is looking to do in regards to the implementation of lanes. Two of its core goals is to “provide access within ¼ miles of network for all residents” and “Identify links needed to connect low-traffic, low-stress routes”. It also notes “aspects” that make Newark “less bike friendly” such as aggressive drivers, “opposition from car dealers with regards to Cleveland Ave”, “focus on vehicular traffic during road design”. While directly implying that bicycle infrastructure failed because of cars is perhaps too much to say outright, much of Newark’s vehicular focus is tied up in a long history of housing struggles within Newark with regards to early 20th century white-flight, mid-century redlining, suburban expansion and the race riots in the 1960s.
3.1894, New York Times: https://www.proquest.com/docview/95216896?parentSessionId=TYMgMXNtG0%2FvJwi7Fw9laotq9pbqLG33zMrff6BXU3s%3D&pq-origsite=primo&accountid=13626&sourcetype=Historical%20Newspapers
Annotated version: Bibliography
“NEWARK’S ACTIVE CYCLISTS: A CITY SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR WHEELING. MACADAM HIGHWAYS LEADING IN EVERY DIRECTION FURNISH REMARKABLE FACILITIES FOR LONG ROAD RUNS — FAVORITE ROUTES FOR BICYCLING TOURS OVER LEVEL ROADS — SOME OF THE CLUBS THAT ARE FLOURISHING AND RAPIDLY INCREASING IN MEMBERSHIP.” 1894.New York Times (1857-1922), Apr 23, 2. https://login.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fhistorical-newspapers%2Fnewarks-active-cyclists%2Fdocview%2F95216896%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D13626.
This source shows that at one point in history late 19th, early 20th century – Newark was considered a city “specially adapted” for “wheeling” (now known as cycling). It’ll (hopefully) provide some historical context of the city prior to automobiles becoming the dominant fashion by which people get around. The way the highways were constructed gave people access to and from the city via bicycling. The article notes the varying routes starting on Clinton Ave and going through Irvington, Milburn, Springfield, Metutchen and New Brunswick. Going from Millburn you can get to Summit. This was at a time when cycling in the USA was growing in popularity. Varying Newark bicycle clubs were popular at this time with membership ranging in the 200s. The Macadam highways being pristine and smooth a hundred years ago obviously flies in the face of the lived experience of not just myself but many others.
4.“History of Bicycling in Parks : NYC Parks,” n.d https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/bicycling.
This source details cycling in New York City through the perspective of the park system. It details in-depth the ebb and flow of cycling popularity from the late 19th century to the 21st century and gives a good perspective on why cycling infrastructure was successfully managed and applied in New York City – especially when compared to Newark.
5.Zhang, Myles. “Interstate Highways (78 and 280) – Newark Changing,” May 1, 1970. https://newarkchanging.org/1970/interstate-highways/.
This source details the history of the interstate highways and how they affected Newark. Essentially creating in and out roads that precipitated and eventually gave away to white-flight and automobile dominance in the city. It details how Blacks were locked out of the real estate market via redlining and how Newark chose between affordable housing or building highways with a line of thinking that highway systems would clear away the slums (it didn’t). This source gives a unique insight into the political power struggle of Newark at that time and also provides evidence for what sort of reverberations this kind of urban policy has. Less affordable housing, more cars, denser and more car centric roadways would obviously equate to a city where building, maintaining or even thinking of real bicycle infrastructure wouldn’t be permissible. It’s a stark contrast to New York City (while NYC was building highways in the city – it was at least providing bicycle lanes as well – to an extent).
Secondary Sources:
- “NEW JERSEY CENTURY RUN.: TWO HUNDRED RIDERS WHEEL FROM NEWARK TO ASBURY PARK.” New York Times (1857-1922), Sep 06, 1897.
This is a newspaper column in the New York Times that provides some background and context with regards to the primary source (1). It is a racing event that was in its fifth year which shows how popular this was becoming in Newark, New Jersey. I’m using this source to highlight a point about Newark’s infrastructure before cars. The point being how dramatically it has changed since. “The route of the run after leaving this city was through the following towns and cities: Belleville, Montclair, Millburn, Elizabeth, Westfield, Plain Field, New Brunswick, Old Bridge, Matteawan, Red Bank, Seabright, Long Branch and Asbury Park”. To imagine doing this, the first thought would be, “But, what about the cars!?”
2.https://www.proquest.com/docview/2131385729/bookReader?accountid=13626&ppg=60&sourcetype=Books
Guroff, Margaret. The Mechanical Horse : How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2016. Accessed March 13, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central. (Chapter Four, “Paving the Way For Cars”.
A historical account detailing the history of the bicycle in American life. The chapter I have chosen explicitly out of this book details how bicycles paved the way for the automobile. The creation of these “macadam” road systems was partly due to the organization of bicycle clubs developing a political agenda that demanded public access to thoroughfares. The LAW (League of American Wheelmen) “sought to make the country safe for cycling”. Cyclists riding out in the country were aghast at the state of country roads and encouraged farmers to lobby in the interest of better roadways (as poor roads in agricultural communities would be their biggest expense). Cycling during the late 19th century was above all-else a rich man’s fad that managed to capture the imaginations of many people (inventors included). When the bubble burst, what was left were blue collar laborers using the bicycle to get to work and the industrialization of the automobile. Cycling imbued individuals with a desire for self-propelled, and self-owned means of transportation.
3. https://dspace.njstatelib.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10929/23969/t7641975.pdf?sequence=1
The Development of Transportation in New Jersey, “A Brief History”. 1975.
“By the turn of the century, a new and powerful voice had been added to the clamor for still better roads. In addition to the farm-to-market group, the large membership of bicycle clubs became a demanding factor. They needed hard-surfaced roads to accommodate their activities. The answer was an increase in the number of roads surfaced with water-bound macadam, and, by 1830, macadam became the popular type of construction material”. This “brochure” is full of good information on cycling presaging the highway system. Following World War I, the automobile became more popular and better roads and highways were required to meet demand. There was also an increase to get “get the farmer out of the mud”.
4. Curvin, Robert. Inside Newark : Decline, Rebellion, and the Search for Transformation. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2014. Accessed March 15, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.
This book details the history of Newark, chapters 1, 2 and 3 providing most of the legwork in terms of its early history and up until 1970. This secondary source is important when talking about how as a city, Newark has a near impossible task of separating itself from its own history in order to have a chance at flourishing in the future. Noted in the book is a quote from 1950, “Nobody actually lives in Newark”. This idea that Newark is essentially an island, where suburbanites commute into for work, commute around to get to their homes, townships and that Newark has nothing to offer outside of this is an important historical distinction to understand because prior to the “urban machine” failing and the epidemic of low income housing, Newark was a vibrant city, an American epicenter for competitive cycling on the East Coast, whose only real flaw comparatively was being nextdoor to New York City.
5. Levels, Annika. “Rethinking the Street: Politics, Processes, and Space of Pedestrian- and Bicycle-Friendly Street Transformations in New York and Berlin.” Order No. 27610118, Technische Universitaet Berlin (Germany), 2019.
An in-depth analysis on street and pedestrian design with an emphasis (starting on page 70) on New York City from the time of Michael Bloomberg’s mayoral terms. This is a quite extensive analysis that covers the varying teams and strategies behind New York City’s Department of Transportation and their efforts to “green New York City”. Concerted governmental efforts such as the World Class Streets program, the exhibition of New York City Streets Renaissance Campaign, Summer Streets Program and the Sustainable Streets Program were all essential governmental planning actions that proved extremely fruitful and absolutely changed the urban landscape in a way few other cities in the world have done. This is an especially important background to have when comparing Newark to New York City because the primary reason this was possible in NYC and not in Newark was the financial capital and investment New York City has historically been engendered with. A history that Newark has not seen in nearly a century.
Image Analysis:
Data Analysis:
Oral Interviews:
Video Story:
Frelinghuysen Avenue from C.W. Sleasman’s Point of View via chest mounted GoPro. I was lucky in that the road was relatively uncongested for this time of day. But, viewers will notice the large amount of trucks and heavy duty vehicles that are regularly on this road. Viewers should also take notice of the road conditions, the manner in which vehicles use the road and the role that pedestrian infrastructure has in this area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5OB4EA-tsE
Ninth Avenue from C.W. Sleasman’s Point of View via chest mounted GoPro. A congested time of day with heavy amounts of traffic in the bike lane in the car lane, however, traffic moves along quite easily. Viewers should take note of the various infrastructure improvements that have made this avenue safer to ride from physical separations in terms of pedestrian islands, cars used as dividers between bike and car traffic and wide left turning lanes that give cars the ability to see cyclists. Viewers should also take notice of how pedestrians are acting.