It's true, Biking Rules is suggesting a new idea of when and why we should yield to someone on NYC streets. This is the basic idea: whether we are drivers or cyclists or pedestrians, we are travelling together and we have to better share our streets. The Biking Rules Street Code follows the simple principle that our responsibility to others on the street increases in relation to our potential to cause harm.

As cyclists, we know what it is like to be pushed around and freaked out by cars. It feels bad. And actually, it can hurt. Cars not looking out for other street users is something most of us can easily take issue with, especially because we know a car is the most deadly thing on the street.

Knowing what we know as cyclists, and knowing what we expect of drivers, why would we want to recreate that same feeling of fear for pedestrians? As cyclists on dense NYC streets, Biking Rules is proposing that we have to step it up and take the lead for safer, saner streets. We can't wait for car drivers to change, and we certainly shouldn't model our own behavior on bad examples.

A driver of a car has supreme responsibility to yield to other street users simply because he/she has the greatest potential to cause harm. As cyclists, we are heavier and move with a greater force than pedestrians and therefore it is our responsibility to look out for them.

In order for cyclists to take the lead, we propose that our most basic responsibility is to yield to pedestrians. Why is this a good idea? For one, it allows us to create coalitions with the largest common denominator in NYC--walkers--so that we can work together to win more livable streets.

Secondly, it doesn't really matter who has the legal right of way. At some point during the day, all New Yorkers are pedestrians. And now, more than ever, public opinion matters. What do safer streets, better bike lanes and larger public and private investment in livable streets projects all have in common? All these steps towards better biking will be decided in settings like Community Board meetings or in the offices of elected officials across the five boroughs. As cyclists we need to get involved in the process and we need to care more about the way our individual behavior impacts the street and thereby shapes the opinion of others.

Check out this great Streetfilm about street designs in Paris. Pay particular attention at 35 seconds into the video when Emmanual Martin, an urban planner for the City of Paris, discusses his idea of a Street Code. In many ways, Paris is in the middle of a transportation renaissance. It is not a coincidence that the urban planners that are designing Parisian streets are also thinking about how street users can most successfully interact by sharing space.

Help us roll this idea of a Street Code out on NYC streets. Biking Rules for NYC!