Bad Bike Plan

To the Editor:
I’m a resident, pedestrian and driver on First Avenue. It was mentioned that the avenue was wide enough for a bike lane with a cement barrier (“Changing Lanes, Nov. 12). Did anyone ever consider that the avenue is also an alternative to the FDR northbound, and that the width helps at rush hour, especially on rainy days when the FDR floods and highway traffic crawls? Did anyone ever see the traffic idling at lights when a truck can’t double park close to the curb and must take away a driving lane because of the bike lane? Read more

STUDY: BIKE LANES BLOCKED

City bicyclists have long complained about their painted sections of street. Bike lanes offer no protection from double parkers, pedestrians and motorists who drive through them, forcing bicyclists to veer into moving traffic.

But the bike lanes on the Upper East Side are especially problematic, according to a new study by Hunter College. The observations by Hunter students found that two Upper East Side bike lane routes had the highest number of obstructions.

On a Tuesday morning between 8 and 10 a.m., there were 29 obstructions on the East 90th Street lane, between Fifth and Third avenues.

The bike lane on First Avenue between East 90th and 96th streets had nine obstructions on a Friday evening, from 5 to 6 p.m.

Cars contributed to 30 percent of bike lane blockage, according to the study. Small trucks and taxis make up 17 and 14 percent, respectively.

Wiley Norvell, communications director for Transportation Alternatives, said the report confirms what bicyclists throughout the city see first hand.

“Our bike lane network is, in many cases, rendered dangerous or unusable,” Norvell said. “There’s some hope around the corner. We encourage the city to expand the number of protected bike lanes.”

Greenway Gap

To the Editor:
There already is a carless, safe, nearly complete north-south route on the East Side (“Changing Lanes,” Nov. 12). It is used by hundreds of bikers a day, offers excellent views of the river and even has space for pedestrians. I’m talking, of course, of the Greenway.

Oh, there is that pesky gap from 38th to 61st streets—where those cyclists using the official Greenway detour have been killed at a rate of almost one a year since 1995, according to Transportation Alternatives’ Crashstats 2.0. Read more

Changing Lanes

The pedestrian-cyclist-driver saga is familiar to anyone living in Manhattan today. Pedestrians loathe bicyclists who break traffic laws. At public transportation meetings, some residents have called for bicyclists to get licenses, like drivers. Bicyclists, meanwhile, say they just want a safe place to ride, away from motorists, who in turn often see bikers as a nuisance.

But this decades-old story may be about to change, as the city may install protected bicycle lanes on First and Second avenues. Unlike the painted lanes drawn on asphalt, protected lanes are strictly for bicyclists. Read more

SUPPORT FOR BIKE LANES

Community Board 8 is looking for new protected bike lanes amid a push to crack down on bicyclists who break traffic rules.

On Oct. 21, the board, by a vote of 38-1 in favor of the project, called for the Department of Transportation to create a plan for a “class 1” lane, which is separated from traffic by a barrier, usually by parked cars.

These lanes will likely run on First and Second avenues where there are dangerous intersections, such as the 59th Street Bridge exit.

“It’s definitely long overdue,” said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group. “To bike down First and Second avenues, you have to be well insured or deeply religious. These are two very dangerous streets.”

A reoccurring pedestrian complaint is that bicyclists illegally ride on the sidewalks. Protected bike lanes, Norvell said, would “virtually eliminate” sidewalk cycling.