CB 6 Committee Votes on East Side Bus+Bike Improvements Tonight

Sorry for the late notice folks, but there's one more public meeting on this week's busy schedule with big implications for street safety, and it's happening tonight. The transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 6 is expected to draft and vote on a resolution regarding plans for Select Bus Service and protected bike lanes on the East Side. If you want to help support for safer biking and walking, you'll want to turn out for this one.

The CB 6 district includes most of the blocks designated in NYCDOT's East Side proposal for Design C -- which lacks a protected bike lane.

The CB 6 district -- which covers the area from 14th Street to 59th Street -- includes most of the stretches on First and Second Avenue slated to go without a protected bike lane in NYCDOT's plan. Street safety advocates hope that a strong turnout tonight will lead to a resolution in support of closing those gaps and giving cyclists a continuous protected route through Midtown.

The vote could also swing the other way. When the same committee first discussed the East Side plan two months ago, support for the protected bike lanes was noticeable but far from overwhelming. If some CB members are wavering about their votes, good turnout and testimony from supporters of livable streets might help them decide.

Tonight's action will be the second community board vote on the East Side plan. Last month, the Manhattan CB 3 transportation committee voted in favor of the re-design in the East Village, the Lower East Side, and Chinatown, including a 14-block stretch of protected bike path above Houston Street. CB 8 is expected to hold a committee vote on the Upper East Side section of the plan next Wednesday.

The CB 6 meeting starts at 7 p.m., so if you plan to sign up to speak, be sure to get there before 7. Here's where to go: