Ever wonder which paths cyclists naturally take through the city? Not satisfied with the location or extent of designated bike lanes? Feel like other street users are quick to dismiss the presence of cyclists?

"Contrail" is a design concept that enables cyclists to increase their visibility to cars, pedestrians, and each other. Conceived by Pepin Gelardi and Teresa Herrmann, this frame-mounted device would allow cyclists to make their mark on the street with faint lines of chalk. The rear wheel spins a smooth trail of color onto the pavement as the bike whizzes along.

Contrail leaves an impression based on the cumulative movements of many cyclists over time (a more lasting variation on the BYO bike lane concept employed by the laser-projected LightLane). Its provocative visual language lies somewhere between sky calligraphy, temporary street graffiti, and overlapping footprints in the snow.

Gelardi and Herrmann proposed Contrail for the Power to the Pedal competition, and are currently developing a prototype. They envision "a new cycle of biking participation" in which the criss-crossing chalk ribbons would pique curiosity, identify more popular routes, and inspire more cyclists to hit the road.

Building upon PlaNYC and DOT's Sustainable Streets, World Class Streets focuses on improving the public realm by concentrating on plazas, complete street design, and Summer Streets-style pedestrian and cycling events. Together these measures aim to transform New York streets into "an environment that is enjoyable as well as functional" for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users of all ages.

For the report, Gehl Architects and DOT conducted a "Public Life Survey," gathering a wealth of data that identifies overcrowded sidewalks, streets without seats, excessive scaffolding, isolated public spaces, and a low ratio of stationary activities as shortcomings to address. "Often the most crowded areas (such as sidewalks near subway stops and street corners) are the places where most obstacles exist," it observes, also noting that "a vastly disproportionate amount of space is allocated to parking cars than to public seating spaces." One telling example is Main Street in Flushing, Queens, where pedestrians outnumber vehicle passengers by a ratio of two to one, yet pedestrians must squeeze into less than one-third of the space.

Among other interesting tidbits in the report:

• Stroget in Copenhagen has 444 cafe seats per 1,000 yards, vs. 15 on Broadway (p. 15).
• Just six percent of pedestrians on Broadway are either under the age of 14 or over 65 (p. 31).
• Sixty percent of storefronts in the Lower Manhattan survey area had closed metal gates on a Sunday at noon (p. 35).

Accusing city higher-ups since Robert Moses of asking only "how the cars can be really happy," Gehl said today's DOT has finally recognized that streets should accommodate a multitude of uses. "New York has wonderful, wide streets compared to other places," he told the audience. Thanks to these relatively spacious streets as well as unique urban density, cultural vitality, parks, and waterways, he said, "New York can have the best streets in the world."

A new city street design manual -- due out this winter -- will set technical guidelines for DOT and all city agencies to implement the changes advocated by World Class Streets. Meanwhile there are miles of bike lanes to create, sidewalks to widen, pedestrian refuges to build, new bike racks to install, and recalcitrant drivers to educate.

Signage for the 4th Street Bikeway in Los Angeles

The People's Choice Design Awards, a pan-design showcase organized by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, reveals ways in which designers are responding to the challenges faced by cyclists today. After a month of public nominations and voting, the final results were announced October 23. Out of 276 nominees -- including everything from a stylish hearing aid to the iPhone to modular shelving blocks -- five were folding bicycles, and four others were related to cycling.

The Strida 5.0

Another popular British folding bicycle, the Brompton, ranked in the top 20 percent of vote recipients. Clive Sinclair's super-lightweight A-bike with tiny wheels was nominated, as was Puma's glow-in-the-dark Stealth Visibility Bike.

Among the most inspiring nominees is the 4th Street Bikeway project in Los Angeles. Determined to improve bicycle signage in L.A. and beyond, local cyclists and graphic designers led by Joseph Prichard have collaborated to design a comprehensive visual language providing warnings and route information. The project proposes a system of permanent signage as well as DIY stencils and templates that allow cyclists to create their own bike route signage anywhere.

Vélib, the Parisian public bike-share program, and the grassroots digital map-making interface known as Green Map also received nominations.

New pedestrian space borders Sara Roosevelt Park on Forsyth Street. (The buffered zone is for parking, not biking.)

Redesigns of Chrystie and Forsyth Streets have started to materialize, giving cyclists and pedestrians a glimpse of changes to come. New bicycle lanes on Chrystie Street may be the most widely anticipated aspect of DOT's planned changes to the Manhattan Bridge access area, but they are only part of a broader effort to calm traffic and increase pedestrian safety on the Lower East Side.

Forsyth Street has already been transformed in several important ways. In late September, about 50 parking spaces were cleared from the west side of the street, and angled parking on the east side was converted to conventional curbside parking. The formerly two-way stretch between Delancey and Grand Streets was converted to one-way uptown.

These changes liberated a lane for the new 10-foot-wide pedestrian path along the edge of Sara D. Roosevelt Park from Hester Street to Houston Street. DOT plans to convert the painted path into a proper sidewalk sometime in 2009, according to its Safe Streets for Seniors report released last month [PDF]. The document indicates that parking will again be permitted on the west side of the street, shifted one lane further toward the center.

Meanwhile, Chrystie Street has already been resurfaced in preparation for its new treatment. Bike lanes, pedestrian islands, narrower motorist lanes, less parking, and designated left turning lanes will make Chrystie a more complete street. The measures should help lower the average of 172 crashes per year recorded from 2001-2006 on the seven-block stretch.

The next logical step for the highly traveled, nearly unbroken straightaway of Chrystie Street would be a protected cycle track à la Copenhagen or New York's own Ninth Avenue. DOT opted not to pursue a cycle track, despite the fact that members of the Community Board 3 transportation committee advocated for the idea. A protected cycle track is, however, scheduled to be installed on adjacent Grand Street. Like Chrystie Street, much of Grand Street has recently been resurfaced but currently has no lane markings whatsoever.

Photo: Gideon Shapiro