New bike lane along major Lower East Side corridor to the Williamsburg Bridge is expected to handle thousands of new daily cyclists in the spring
Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced the official opening of a new two-way protected bike lane along Delancey Street on the Lower East Side, which provides a safer route for bicycle commuters traveling to and from the Williamsburg Bridge. The bridge, already the busiest for cyclists among all East River crossings, is expected to play a central role during the shutdown of L train service between Brooklyn and Manhattan – when half of L train riders are expected to travel daily over the bridge by train, bus or bicycle.
“We are doing critical work now to help mitigate New Yorkers’ pain during the L train repairs,” said Mayor de Blasio. “We look forward to welcoming thousands of daily cyclists to the new protected bike lane down Delancey Street, which will be a key link in our transportation network when the L train tunnel shuts down.”
“Increasing access for cyclists will help make the Williamsburg Bridge a showpiece for how we can and will keep New Yorkers moving during next year’s challenging shutdown,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “Delancey Street serves as the bridge’s front door, and the new bike lane there will play an outsized role as a vital connector for thousands of new bicycle commuters, joining more than 100,000 new daily train and bus commuters on the bridge when the L train tunnel closes. We are confident that the 115-year old ‘Willy B’ is ready for her close-up.”
New Delancey Street Bike Lane – The new quarter-mile-long two-way bike lane closes a notable gap in DOT’s protected bike lane network in Lower Manhattan. Bike travel volumes over the Williamsburg Bridge remain the highest of the four East River Bridges with an average of nearly 7,300 cyclists each day. Estimates are that daily volumes will double or even triple during the 15-month L train tunnel closure.
By connecting the Williamsburg Bridge bike path with the Allen Street/1st Avenue/Pike Street lanes and the Chrystie Street/2nd Avenue protected lanes, new riders expected during the L train tunnel closure are expected to make safer and more seamless connections to and from most of Manhattan. As part of the project, DOT added a Jersey barrier to protect the lane along the south side of the median between Allen and Clinton Streets, as well as a first-of-its-kind “bike island” at the intersection of Allen and Delancey Streets.
Delancey Street remains a focus of Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative to prevent traffic deaths and injuries around the five boroughs. Between 2012 and 2016, Delancey Street saw 24 serious traffic injuries and two fatalities, both pedestrians. A major element in the Vision Zero toolbox, protected bike lanes have proven to reduce crashes and increase street safety for all street users -- pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
About the Williamsburg Bridge
Opened in 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge was the second major East River bridge crossing to open, after the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. It was originally built to accommodate trains on its central tracks, with trolleys and other vehicles on its outer roadways. Neglected for much of the 20th century, the bridge was deemed unsafe in 1988, when it was forced to close for two weeks for emergency repairs. Over the last thirty years, over $1.2 billion of Federal, State and City investment led to comprehensive repair or replacement of every element of the bridge, bringing the bridge from being rated in “poor” condition to currently being rated in a “state of good repair.” Operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation, the bridge accommodates about 100,000 vehicles every day, along with hundreds of MTA trains.
With the closure of the L train tunnel, about half of the 225,000 displaced L riders are expected to commute over the Williamsburg Bridge on a daily basis: according to MTA estimates, 32 percent of L riders are expected to travel on the J, M and Z lines, which will increase frequency over the bridge; another 17 percent are expected to ride on L-Alternative buses over the bridge (which will have HOV3 restrictions during the tunnel closure) that will connect subway transit hubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan; another 2-3 percent are expected to bicycle or walk over the bridge.
