It is now, finally,
legal to operate pedal-activated, electric-assisted cycles in New York City. Fortunately, fully-evolved versions of these machines, multi-passenger, weatherized, beautiful and accessible, will eventually fill our streets. Meanwhile, vehicle designers, from around the country and the planet, are therefore invited to visit here, over the next few years, to bring their creative versions of these devices, including wheelchairs, here, to show-off and use.
The primary venue for this undertaking is Flushing Meadows Park, in Queens New York, now celebrating the Anniversaries of the historic 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs that took place there. Its wide paths and many open spaces are perfect places to demonstrate the next generation of healthful, safe, appropriate, maybe even beautiful, urban vehicles. Giving the public the opportunity to experience this multitude of options is of great benefit to both the creators of these new, up-to-date conveyances and their eventual users.
This program will also seek to initiate efforts in other places with similar goals. Traveling to NYC will be impossible for many, so helping to generate local support for projects from both public, private and non-profit sources, needs to be done as well.
This “event” is more like the sun rising, a natural occurrence, an inevitability. We have finally, as a species, realized that we must use the resources that we have more consciously and responsibly, especially as regards transportation. As a result, bike-sharing and electric vehicles, for instance, are becoming standard and welcome features of cities everywhere.
At the same time, there is the realization that we must begin to seriously upgrade the quality and utility of these devices, enable them to provide better weather protection and creature comforts, make them beautiful and inspiring instead of merely utilitarian. There are ingenious people everywhere, artists, mechanics, designers, who can contribute to the expansion of the varieties of vehicles available and their improvement, and should.
Showing these devices off, and letting others use them, as part of a grand showcase, in order to generate more colorful and beneficial activity in this realm, is one goal here. Contributing substantially to resolving one of our most vexing environmental catastrophes is another. Appreciating one another’s creativity while having a good time is another.