Despite the wet and rainy weather, City Council members strapped on their bike helmets Thursday to pedal their way to City Hall to rally for biker safety in NYC.

“I bike every day. It’s my favorite way to get around,” said Councilmember Lincoln Restler. “But I have to say, it’s scarier than it should be and far too often every single day I feel like I’m putting myself at risk.”

Just last year 16 cyclists were killed while riding on city streets, according to the Department of Transportation. The rally today was in support of the city’s “Streets Master Plan”, which plans to build hundreds of protected bike lanes by 2026. This bill is also focused on protecting delivery workers.

“They’re continuing to get our food to us in weather like this,” said Councilmember Shahana Halif. “I’m not cycling to work today, but these delivery workers don’t have a choice.”

The Streets Master Plan was passed by City Council in 2019, but members say the mayor hasn’t put enough funding toward the proposal yet. The mayor's office told News 12 the funding the mayor has committed would fully fund the Streets Master Plan. 

The city is currently on track to upgrade 10 miles of bike lanes this year, but leaders are still calling for more money to be put aside for this plan.

“Too many New Yorkers have lost their lives to the traffic violence crisis, and we are seeing cities across the country struggle just like us, but this historic investment will allow New Yorkers to walk and cycle around our city without fear. With this historic investment of over $900 million, we are tackling this crisis head-on and setting the tone nationwide," says Mayor Eric Adams. 

The mayor's office says they are on track to meets its goals of hardening 20 miles of protected bike lanes by 2023 and redesigning 1,000 intersections