1. “I hear the birds chirping on my bike ride to work.”

2. “I find it easy to meet women/men at social events that I bike to.”

3. “Biking relaxes me and makes it easier to cope with city life.”

4. “I save money cycling to work, so I can splurge on things I want.”

5. “I started biking to work and within a year I’d lost x pounds.”

6. “Cycling in the city is a great cheap date.”

7. “I see the craziest, only-in-NY things while cycling.”

8. “Doing my marketing on two wheels helps me save $$$ by curbing impulses.”

9. “If I flat, I fix it myself and keep on going.”

10. “I love riding in the summer because of all the cool places to stop.”

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If you haven’t been there, it looks kind of like this. Empty and paved. On the sides, it’s a different story.

What’s amazingly cool about it, however, is how completely unique it is in New York City. First off, there are no houses or businesses on 75% of it. Second, it curves in an ‘S’ shape. Third, it connects two really dense, really interesting neighborhoods: Washington Heights on the top and Inwood on the bottom. With all these fantastic attributes, how come it just languishes there, used mostly as a medium-term parking lot?

What would be great is to develop it as a real place. A pathway through the forest, with gardens, arbors, benches, and playgrounds. A two-way bike lane and a jogging track. Maybe even turn the auto-glass shop and the car wash:

into restaurants or play areas. The street could be a destination in its own right, a place that would link these two neighborhoods with a third place, instead of a dull strip of roadway.

What do you think?