NYC council approves 'head start' for cyclists at intersections

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - New York's City Council approved a bill that allows bike riders to follow pedestrian walk signs rather than vehicle traffic lights so that they can get a small head start at intersections.

"Right now throughout the city, there are intersections where pedestrians are given a head start before vehicle traffic moving in the same direction as them," Marco Conner of Transportation Alternatives, told FOX 5 NY. "This makes it safer for them because they avert the turning conflicts of cars turning into their path."

Conner said that cyclists will benefit from that same type of head start.

Council Member Carlson Menchaca, who sponsored the bill, said that the mayor supports the bill based on data from the NYPD and DOT.

The bill will likely take effect in November.