Not according to some cycling advocates, who say that though the city should be commended for putting in more bike lanes, they should do a better job of enforcing traffic laws. The outcry comes on the heels of two recent cycling deaths in Brooklyn, one of an 8 year old boy and one of a 50 year old man. That brings the death toll for cyclists in NYC for the year to 9.

As the wife of an avid cyclist and friend of many people who commute on bikes, I’m always concerned for their safety while they bike in the city. Though some cyclists disobey traffic laws themselves, the key thing to remember is that cars are large, made of steel and glass, and weigh thousands of pounds, and bicyclists are small, unprotected, and weigh a couple hundred pounds at most. In a contest of car vs. bicycle, guess which one will win?

I think that cyclists should obey traffic laws, and so should drivers. I see plenty of cyclists on the road doing irresponsible things, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be hurt or killed. They deserve traffic tickets. So do drivers – and during an average cab ride or stroll around town, I see tons more vehicular traffic violations than I do cyclist traffic violations. I know everyone wants to get where they’re going as fast as possible, but at what cost? The cost of someone’s life? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be late.

What do you think the city can do to make NYC more bicycle-friendly?