New Stoplights for Bikes Aim To Fix Deadly Stretch of 3rd Avenue

Brand-new stoplights for bicycles have begun operation at the corner of 69th Street and Third Avenue, aiming to make a dangerous stretch of the avenue safe for bike and foot traffic in the heart of New York City’s “Green Wave.”

Standing at eye level, about five feet off the the ground, and fixed to an existing traffic-light pole, the set of three lights—which use the same green, yellow, and red colors that the larger motor vehicle traffic signals employ—are the newest initiative by the Department of Transportation to make the city’s streets safer.

The new addition follows previous projects on Third Avenue, such as the “Vision Zero Priority Corridor” and the “Complete Street” project of 2023.

“These new traffic signals for cyclists complement our Green Wave traffic timing, the next natural step in making sure the thousands of cyclists who use this street every day can keep both themselves and the many pedestrians crossing Third Avenue safe,” NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement released April 16. “We are working every day to make our streets safer and to make it easier for New Yorkers to get around our city.”

The two-mile stretch of Third Avenue, from 60th to 96th streets, has a reputation for danger. Since 2020, it has counted five fatalities and 31 serious traffic injuries, making it one of the most dangerous avenues in the city. Those fatalities include four pedestrians and one cyclist. Earlier this year, the busy intersection saw its speed of 25 miles per hour for vehicles cut to only 15 miles per hour. This was part of the changes brought on by the Green Wave plan, with a change to the timing of the stoplights for cars. Instead of formally dropping the speed limit to 25, the stoplights were reprogrammed in a way to facilitate 15 miles per hour.

The move angered some UES residents, however, who complained to the NY Post that it turned Third Avenue into an e-bike “racetrack” and a “glacier” for drivers. Local City Council Member Julie Menin had complained to DOT’s Rodriguez at the time that there had been no community outreach prior to making the changes.

But there is apparently a precedent for the smaller stoplights for bike traffic. A recent, peer-reviewed paper from Oregon State University found that when stoplights like the one at 69th and Third were used, red-light-running fell by 50 percent. According to the paper, the “average percentage of users who committed a red-light violation [after such lights were installed] decreased from 30.8 percent to 14.8 percent.” While only one of these lights has been installed by the DOT so far on Third Avenue, more expected as work on the dangerous stretch continues.

And already the Upper East Side is seeing the effects of previous changes to its roadways. Since the redesigns of 2023, the implemented safety measures appear to have brought down the number of accidents even while the overall number of bicycle riders surged. According to the DOT, pedestrian injuries are down 54.3 percent while overall injuries are down 33.3 percent while at the same time bike ridership is up a whopping 79 percent.

This most recent change, while on its face is a net positive for safety improvements, may not be without controversy. The stoplights may face the same kind of ire from Council Member Julie Menin as the speed decrease on the Third Avenue received in February. Menin was never consulted on the project, and only learned of the DOT’s decision to implement the change in speed controls from a New York Times article. She later expressed frustration on behalf of herself and her constituents.

“Constituent complaints and a report from the New York Times informed my office that the Department of Transportation had retimed traffic lights to effectively reduce the speed of vehicular traffic from 25 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour for commuting by car or bus.,” Menin wrote to Rodriguez in a February. “Local residents are troubled by the lack of transparency, communication, and solicitation of community feedback that did not occur before the speed reduction plan was implemented.”

At the time of publication, Menin had not returned a call seeking comment on the new stoplight project.