Eyes on the Street: Protected Bike Lane Discovered on Columbus Ave

columbus_ave_felix.jpgFelix Morales tries out the freshly painted lane on his scooter. Photo: Ken Coughlin

After a lot of great advocacy from the Upper West Side Streets Renaissance and a down-to-the-wire vote at Community Board 7 this spring, DOT crews are laying down the first on-street protected bikeway above 34th 59th Street, on Columbus Avenue between 96th and 77th. Streetsblog contributor Ken Coughlin sent in these pictures of the painting and striping in progress last Friday.

columbus_ave_one.jpgLooking south from 96th Street. Photo: Ken Coughlin
  • Planner Man

    When are we going to see our first gravel bike lane?

  • Supposedly the newly opened bike path through Brooklyn Bridge Park has a substantial gravel section. I haven’t seen it firsthand yet. ?!

  • Wah-hoo! Can’t wait for our first back-to-school ride on Sept. 13th!

  • I had some down time in Brooklyn Heights last week and took a short video of the ride through Brooklyn Bridge Park on the new path, including the gravel segment. I just uploaded it to YouTube.

  • Doug

    Rode the brooklyn Bridge park path this weekend during Green Streets (went down Park ave and kept going!). It was fun, and is a really great way to regulate speeds for bikers in shared space with pedestrians. Had narrow road tires and didn’t mind the gravel at all.

    I was watching all week with excitement as they marked and then painted the Columbus Ave bike line. This should make a huge difference for biking on the UWS, although folks returning from work who are road averse may be forced into Central Park as the only decent alternative (Riverside involves a hill and quite a bit of distance to Columbus).

  • A friend and I discovered the Columbus Ave lane on Saturday morning as we were bicycling downtown Harlem. Sure enough, some cars had discovered it, too! The barriers can’t come soon enough.

    Still, it’s a welcome addition to the bicycle network.

  • Columbus

    Just an FYI, the Broadway protected bike lane begins at 59th Street. Also, I’ve heard that the section shown here will only extend to 86th Street. The lower section is being repaved in September, and will be striped afterwards.

  • duh

    wahoo! And the top photo is of someone riding an electric scooter on a bike lane? Really?

  • angel

    the green new bike lanes up in the 90s and columbus ave in nyc ,great idea,now less bike riders will get mowdown by desperate drivers,we need to expanded even more,it will even save gas,more people will ride bikes and feel a litle more save.myself i dont feel right riding a bike with vehicles passing me at more than 15 mph,its like playing russian rullette,if that was your idea mayor,that was a good idea.

  • Let’s have the next one up in Inwood. We’ve been totally ignored by DOT when it comes to advanced bike lanes. The Dyckman Greenway Connector would be a good beginning.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Majority Favor Extending Columbus Bike Lane, But CB 7 Fails to Advance It

By Stephen Miller |
Despite a strong majority who turned out to support safer streets on the Upper West Side and conclusive evidence that pedestrian injuries have dropped thanks to the Columbus Avenue protected bike lane, Manhattan Community Board 7’s transportation committee failed to advance a resolution to extend the Columbus redesign beyond its current one-mile stretch between 77th and 96th Streets. […]