Eyes on the Street: Concrete Progress on Eighth Ave Protected Bike Lane

By Ben Fried
Jul 6, 2012

Doug Gordon of Brooklyn Spoke fame sends these shots of another milestone in the extension of the Eighth Avenue protected bike lane: The pedestrian islands are going in. These pools of pure unspoiled concrete were spied at the intersection of 35th Street.

Watching this NYC DOT safety project take shape in the heart of Midtown, a favorite quote from livable streets guru Jan Gehl comes to mind: “How nice is it to wake up every morning and know that your city is a little bit better than it was the day before.”

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Fifth Avenue at 48th Street: Lots of space for cars, cramped conditions on the margins for people walking and biking. Photo: Google Maps

DOT Still Lacks a Plan for Better Walking and Biking in the Heart of Midtown

By David Meyer | Sep 26, 2017

At a Community Board 5 meeting, dozens of people called out DOT for hesitating to claim street space for wide sidewalks and protected bike lanes in the most crowded part of the city.

DOT Commits to Sixth Ave Protected Bike Lane From 14th to 33rd Streets

By Stephen Miller | Sep 22, 2015

DOT says it will begin planning and outreach later this year for a protected bike lane on Sixth Avenue between 14th and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The announcement comes after years of advocacy by the Transportation Alternatives Manhattan activist committee, which called for protected bike lanes and pedestrian islands on Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. The […]

Eyes on the Street: Hudson Street Protected Bike Lane Under Construction

By Brad Aaron | Jun 23, 2014

Doug Gordon of Brooklyn Spoke fame tweeted these photos from Hudson Street in the West Village, where DOT is installing a parking-protected bike lane that’s seeing use before the green paint goes down. The upgrade was requested by Community Board 2. As Streetsblog reported in April, it converts the buffered bike lane on Hudson into […]

Eyes on the Street: Breathing Room for Pedestrians on Eighth Avenue in Midtown

By Brad Aaron | Jun 27, 2017

The city added nine feet of walking space (a 40 percent increase) to the west side of Eighth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets, north of the bus terminal. Planters line what used to be a parking lane next to a buffered bike lane, which remains intact.

What Protected Bike Lanes on Midtown Cross Streets Might Look Like

By David Meyer | Dec 9, 2015

We reported yesterday that DOT is exploring the potential for crosstown protected bike lanes in Midtown. Currently, the painted crosstown bike lanes on Midtown cross streets tend to get blocked by cars. Here’s how one reader put it: My main complaint as a crosstown cyclist in midtown during the workday are streets that are so calm that nothing […]

DOT won't actually implement the yellow plastic "tuff curbs" that were supposed to protect cyclists during rush hour. Image: DOT

Tuff Luck: DOT Nixes Rush Hour Protection on 2nd Ave Bike Lane

By David Meyer | Aug 1, 2017

Last summer, DOT put forward a plan to install a protected bike lane on Second Avenue between 59th Street and 43rd Street. Now the new bike lane is in place, but the "tuff curbs" that are supposed to protect it during rush hour are nowhere to be seen, and DOT has no intention of adding them.