Part of Green Wave plan to create 30 miles of protected bicycle lanes citywide this year
The de Blasio Administration today announced the 2020 protected bike lane projects in Brooklyn. This year’s new lanes will include the extension of protected lanes along 4th Avenue north to Barclays Center and along Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg, connecting the Williamsburg Bridge to the new Kosciusko Bridge bike path. This is part of the Mayor’s Green Wave plan, which will create more than 30 miles of protected bike lanes citywide this year.
“I can’t imagine a better place to kick off this year’s Green Wave than my beloved Brooklyn,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re redoubling our efforts to protect cyclists, and New Yorkers can expect to see many more protected bike lanes across the city this year.”
“We are continuing to expand the protected bike lane network across Brooklyn to better accommodate cyclists,” said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. “We know protected bike lanes are key to making city streets safer for everyone on the road.”
“Brooklyn had a tough year for Vision Zero in 2019, so that is why we are here at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge to announce our plans for protected bike lanes in this new year,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “With the Mayor’s leadership, we are bringing a laser focus to this borough, with a record number of protected bike lanes coming to a range of neighborhoods. Protected bike lanes make streets safer for everyone, and we have heard such great feedback on the work we did creating new protected lanes along 4th Avenue last year. As a Brooklynite, I am especially pleased to announce that in 2020, we will finish the job.”
As part of the Mayor’s Green Wave plan, the Department of Transportation has committed to building 30 miles of new protected bike lanes citywide in 2020. At least ten of those miles will be in Brooklyn, including the following planned projects:
· 4th Avenue, Park Slope/Gowanus
· Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Park/Brooklyn Botanic Garden
· Ft. Hamilton Parkway, Windsor Terrace
· Franklin Street (Greenway), Greenpoint
· Meeker Avenue, Williamsburg/Greenpoint
· Navy Street, Downtown Brooklyn
· Remsen Avenue, Canarsie
· Smith Street, Downtown Brooklyn
DOT today released its Vision Zero data about one of its major projects completed in 2018 in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn. A single mile of Gerritsen Avenue, Gerritsen Beach’s major thoroughfare, had four speeding related fatalities alone from 2007 to 2016.
Starting in 2017, DOT added a two-way protected bicycle lane and installed other major safety improvements, including pedestrian refuge islands, new bus stops and enhanced crossings which have dramatically improved safety. The corridor has had no fatalities since DOT began its transformational work, with the annual number of crashes declining by 54 percent.
“Last year was the deadliest year for cyclists in decades, and unfortunately the epicenter of the crisis was Brooklyn. We need to make aggressive, rapid investments in street safety to stem the tide of deaths and injuries throughout the five boroughs, and ensure all can move around our city safely. I am heartened to see the DOT implementing street safety infrastructure projects our office has long advocated for, including a protected bike lane along Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park and on Navy Street in Downtown Brooklyn, as well as along other arterial roadways where most injuries and fatalities occur. We must act swiftly to ensure needed public safety measures are equitably deployed in every corner of our city,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
About Vision Zero:
Vision Zero is the de Blasio administration’s initiative to use every tool at its disposal to end traffic deaths and injuries on New York City streets. Since the program’s inaugural year in 2014, when New York City became the first American city to adopt Vision Zero, the City’s traffic fatalities have declined more than 25 percent — bucking national fatality trends, which have increased 15 percent over the same period.
For more information about the de Blasio Administration’s Vision Zero initiative, please see www.nyc.gov/visionzero.
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