Twenty five lane miles in 2017 exceeds last year’s record; Dramatic improvements around Williamsburg Bridge will aid in the expected doubling in cycling volume during the L Train closure in 2019
New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg today announced that DOT would finish 2017 with a record 25 miles of new protected bike lanes. Riding a Citi Bike, the Commissioner was joined near the Williamsburg Bridge by elected officials and advocates, who hailed the additional mileage within New York City’s growing 1,190-mile bicycle network. The changes this year include new protected lanes that will help in the movement of L train riders, displaced when the L Train’s Canarsie Tunnel closes in April 2019 – when DOT anticipates daily bike volume over the Williamsburg Bridge will double.
“My helmet is off to the DOT planning and construction crews that have this year shattered records with 25 miles of new protected bike lanes, part of the largest bicycle network in North America,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “Twenty years ago, the city took a big step forward with its first plan to build a bike lane network, and cycling is now growing by orders of magnitude, faster than any other mode of transportation in the city. As we noted last week when we joined the MTA to unveil our plans for the L train closure, these terrific improvements around the Williamsburg Bridge will do a lot to address the even greater surge of cycling we expect to see then.”
The Commissioner noted that the de Blasio Administration had committed to double cycling Citywide by 2020, and cited other highlights around bike lanes this year:
· The 25 miles constructed this year exceeded the previous one-year record of 18 miles set in 2016 by 38%.
· DOT also added more dedicated mileage (65 miles of conventional lanes and protected) than ever before, with two-thirds of that mileage outside Manhattan, providing safe routes to schools, parks, shops, restaurants and other neighborhood destinations.
· In Midtown Manhattan -- the center of commerce in New York City – cycling has increased 40% since 2013. In 2017, DOT continued to build out a strong protected bike network in the central business district, with almost three miles of new lanes along Second, Fifth and Seventh Avenues.
· Outside Manhattan, DOT listened closely to community groups, and worked alongside sister agencies such as Parks, and DOT built new protected bicycle lanes in new parts of the City, including along 111th Street in Queens and Gerritsen Avenue in Brooklyn. DOT also completed the third phase of the transformation of Queens Boulevard, which has now gone more than three years without a pedestrian or cyclist fatality.
· Other new lanes completed this year around the City include those along Classon Avenue and Loring Ave in Brooklyn, Monsignor Del Valle Square in the Bronx, Van Duzer Street, Targee Street and St Paul's Avenue on Staten Island, and 150th Street and Parsons Boulevard in Queens.
Even prior to the Canarsie Tunnel shutdown, the Williamsburg Bridge currently has the highest cyclist volumes of any East River crossing: 7,580 cyclists (along with close to 4,000 pedestrians on a walkway that is mostly separate from the bikeway). The project improving Williamsburg Bridge bike access from S. 4th Street and Borinquen Place repurposed underutilized space underneath the BQE on-ramp to create a new crossing for cyclists and pedestrians. Concrete barriers, used along La Guarina Playground, create dedicated bike lanes while slowing traffic along an area frequented by children.
DOT also adjusted traffic signals to create a new more inviting public space along Havemeyer Street linking neighborhoods on each side of the elevated highway, and where heavy vehicular traffic had previously dominated. These changes complement the improvements that DOT made last year at the nearby Williamburg Plaza B44 bus terminus that benefit thousands of daily pedestrians and bus riders.
As part of Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries, DOT is implementing its most aggressive street redesign safety program, increased investment in street redesign and traffic-calming measures citywide. DOT has also improved the safety at a record number of dangerous intersections and thoroughfares and is installing a record number of Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) to give pedestrians a head start while crossing the street.
For more information about the de Blasio Administration’s Vision Zero initiative, please seewww.nyc.gov/visionzero.
