Streets Officially Handed Over to the Bikes (Temporarily)

Any Upper East Siders trying to hail a cab along the lower reaches of Park Avenue Saturday morning were plum out of luck, as renegade two-wheelers, their helmeted spawn and a few brave dog-walkers had the run of the boulevard. The first of three "Summer Streets" - offering 6.9 car-free miles from (almost) Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge - gave a taste of what it would be like if more of the city were handed over to the bicyclists and pedestrians. Just in case you think they're joking, the events roll into town a month after the DOT put out a "request for expressions of interest" for a bike-sharing program a la Paris. To put a bit of a damper on the utopian parade, though, the Times runs a SundayStyles piece on the angst and possible physical harm bicyclists still face in the battle for cars' turf.
· No Traffic on a Saturday? Well, No Cars, Anyway [NYT]
· Bike Wars: Moving Targets [NYT]