Eyes on the Street: Progress on the First Ave Bike Lane. Terrorists Rejoice!

4:47 PM EDT on July 8, 2011

Though the First Avenue bike lane extension is not yet complete, where the paint is down and motorists are making use of the floating parking lane, some New Yorkers are already taking advantage of the safe space. Photo: Noah Kazis.

As Marcia Kramer informed CBS2 viewers last night, construction has begun on the extension of the First and Second Avenue bike lanes from 34th Street to 57th Street. The section of First Avenue from 34th Street to 47th Street is the only part of this project where the bike lane will be physically protected from traffic. Above 47th it becomes a plain painted bike lane and then transitions into a shared lane from 49th Street to 57th Street. So far, the lane only consists of paint -- construction hasn't started on any pedestrian islands -- but some cyclists are already making use of the protected space.

More pics below the fold.

Paint and barrels mark what appears to be the site of a future pedestrian refuge island at 34th Street and First Avenue.

At the northern end of the UN tunnel, the parking protected lane looks like it may transition into a buffered bike lane. Photo: Noah Kazis.

At 49th Street, the bike lane turns into a shared lane. This lane is set off with a solid painted line to minimize lane changes. It should have bike logos added below the painted chevrons and signs will be posted to further notify drivers to share the space. Photo: Noah Kazis.

Noah Kazis

Noah joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter at the start of 2010. When he was a kid, he collected subway paraphernalia in a Vignelli-map shoebox. Before coming to Streetsblog, he blogged at TheCityFix DC and worked as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Toledo, Ohio. Noah graduated from Yale University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the class politics of transportation reform in New York City. He lives in Morningside Heights.

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