Here’s how it works:

The concept is pretty simple. Just like MapQuest, Google, Microsoft, and other mapping programs, Ride the City finds the shortest distance between two points. But there are two major differences. First, RTC excludes roads that aren’t meant for biking, like the BQE and the Queens Midtown tunnel. Second, RTC tries to locate routes that maximize the use of bike lanes and greenways.

History of Brooklyn’s Ocean Parkway
1860’s – Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who were also responsible for Central Park and Prospect Park, designed and proposed Ocean Parkway to the Brooklyn Park Commissioners.
1868 – Land for Ocean Parkway was acquired by the City of Brooklyn.
1874 – Construction of Ocean Parkway began.
1880 – Ocean Parkway completed.
1894 – Pedestrian path split to create the first bike path in the United States.
1950 – Northernmost half-mile of Ocean Parkway demolished and replaced by the Prospect Expressway.
1975 – Ocean Parkway designated a historic landmark.

View Map of Ocean Parkway Bike Path

The bike path is on the West side of Ocean Parkway. The path on the East side is reserved for pedestrians.

The bike path is separated from cars by a tree-lined median and intersects with cross streets at every block.

signs above from Urch on flickr