Workers blast away at the Bedford Avenue bike lane. Photo: Elizabeth Press.
As reported by Gothamist, DOT is removing a 14-block stretch of the Bedford Avenue bike lane between Flushing Avenue and Division Street in Hasidic Williamsburg. Workers were seen erasing the lane this morning, taking away a safer cycling connection to central Williamsburg that had been in place since 2007. The northbound bike lane now ends abruptly at Flushing, with space that once belonged to bikes already converted to left-turn lanes and the like:
Official reasons for the removal are hazy. DOT spokesperson Seth Solomonow sent the following statement by way of explanation:
A small portion of this lane is being removed as part of ongoing bike network adjustments in the area, which have included the recent addition of a barrier-protected connector lane on nearby Williamsburg Street and the completion of a unique, two-way protected lane on parallel Kent Avenue. We will continue to work with any community on ways we can make changes to our streets without compromising safety.
It's hard to see how any bike lane, let alone a popular and useful route like Bedford Avenue, can be removed without compromising safety. "This is a really heavily used segment of the Brooklyn bike network," said Transportation Alternatives' Wiley Norvell. "Calling it redundant is a bit like saying it's redundant to have sidewalks on the street. It's a necessary part of the transportation system. Cyclists are still going to use Bedford Avenue in large numbers, and they deserve a safe route."
During his re-election campaign, Mayor Bloomberg struck a deal on several issues of special significance to Hasidic leaders. Whether the Bedford Avenue bike lane was part of the bargain, we can't say. But whatever was in the deal, it didn't help much at the polls. After two elections in which the Hasidic vote strongly backed Bloomberg, this year support for the mayor softened in Hasidic communities as it did everywhere else in the city.
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
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