DOT Previews Big Plans at Greenway Summit

2498989667_f43fa60853.jpg
The Ninth Avenue cycle track will be extended 10 blocks north to 33rd St.

Transportation Alternatives held its 3rd Annual Greenway Summit on Tuesday, where keynote speaker Jon Orcutt, Director of Policy for NYC DOT, outlined the city’s plans for expanding cycling infrastructure over the coming year. Here are the highlights, via the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Mobilizing the Region:

  • Adding bike lanes and pedestrian islands to Vernon Blvd. in Long Island City this summer.
  • Installing new bike lanes on Kent Ave in Williamsburg along the East River.
  • Improving the crossways over
    the FDR from the East River Greenway by keeping them cleaner and
    introducing traffic calming measures at the intersections.
  • Extending the 9th Avenue protected bike lane in Manhattan to 33rd St. (The lane currently ends at 23rd St.)
  • As part of a push to build 15 miles of protected bike lanes by 2010, installing a protected lane on 8th Ave. between Canal St. and 23rd St. in Manhattan.
  • Adding a bike lane connecting Van Cortlandt Park and the Broadway Bridge in spring 2009.
  • Constructing bike access to the Shore Parkway Greenway at 157th Ave near JFK Airport.

As DOT forges ahead with substantive bike-ped improvements, Orcutt pointed out that the department doesn’t operate in a vacuum. 

"In thanking the advocacy community for its support," MTR reports, "Orcutt added that
interagency cooperation was key to the continued advancement of cycling
infrastructure in New York."

Editor’s note: Items concerning the Navy Yard and Broadway Bridge have been corrected. 

Photo: bicyclesonly / Flickr 

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Will de Blasio’s Bike Lane Network Keep Pace With Citi Bike Expansion?

By Brad Aaron |
A City Council hearing on bike infrastructure is about to get underway this afternoon, where council members will “focus on ways to improve” NYC bike infrastructure, according to a press release from Ydanis Rodriguez, the transportation chair. One issue that Transportation Alternatives will be highlighting at the hearing is the mismatch between the existing bike […]

One City, By Bike: Getting It Done, or Why the Bikelash Is Behind Us

By Jon Orcutt |
This is the final piece in a five-part series by former NYC DOT policy director Jon Orcutt about the de Blasio administration’s opportunities to expand and improve cycling in New York. Read part one, part two, part three, and part four. New bike lanes geared to Citi Bike expansion, bringing safer and more appealing cycling conditions to more neighborhoods, […]

Jon Orcutt and Bruce Schaller Are Moving on From NYC DOT

By Ben Fried |
Two key architects of change at NYC DOT are moving on after seven years with the agency. DOT Traffic and Planning Commissioner Bruce Schaller departed at the end of May, and DOT Policy Director Jon Orcutt announced on Twitter yesterday that he will be leaving next week. Orcutt and Schaller were two of former DOT chief […]

One City, By Bike: Huge Opportunities for NYC Cycling in the de Blasio Era

By Jon Orcutt |
Jon Orcutt was NYC DOT’s policy director from 2007 to 2014. He developed DOT’s post-PlaNYC strategic plan, Sustainable Streets, oversaw creation of the Citi Bike program, and produced the de Blasio administration’s Vision Zero Action Plan. In this five-part series, he looks at today’s opportunities to build on the breakthroughs in NYC cycling made during the […]

One City, By Bike: Bill de Blasio’s Bike Network

By Jon Orcutt |
This is part three of a five-part series by former NYC DOT policy director Jon Orcutt about the de Blasio administration’s opportunities to expand and improve cycling in New York. Read part one and part two. Applied to cycling, Mayor de Blasio’s “two cities” campaign theme would argue that the safety and accessibility benefits conveyed by bike lanes in […]