by Noah Kazis, December 10, 2010, StreetsBlog

The DOT screenline count shows 2010 as the third consecutive year of rapid growth in cycling. Image: NYC DOT
Another year, another double-digit increase in the city’s cyclist count. DOT estimates that the number of cyclists riding into the center of the city jumped up 13 percent in 2010, continuing a three-year pattern of rapid growth [PDF].
In terms of absolute growth, 2010 marks the third-largest increase in the number of cyclists counted since DOT began counting in 1986. Only 2008 and 2009 showed larger gains, according to DOT, of 32 and 26 percent respectively. This year’s 13 percent jump is on top of that rapid growth. In total, the bike count is up 88 percent in the last three years.
“More people are riding their bikes, thanks to the new bike lanes now crisscrossing the city,” said Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steely White. “As the city continues to build out its biking network and add a bike-share system, we are certain that more New Yorkers will choose this affordable, healthy and non-polluting form of transportation.”