Eyes on the Street: An Argument for Protected Bike Lanes in One Photograph

Elevated from today's headline stack: Photographer Dmitry Gudkov snapped this picture on Friday afternoon of a commercial van -- the phone number goes to Glass & Windows, Inc., of Long Island City -- straddling the concrete barrier that separates a two-way bike lane, and the sidewalk beyond, from the busy intersection where Flushing Avenue crosses beneath the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

It's not hard to understand why many New Yorkers feel unsafe biking and walking on streets where deadly speeding goes unchecked. And while we have the studies to prove that protected bike lanes have an impact not just on perceived safety, but on actual safety as well, every now and then something comes along to cut through the dry data and illustrate why these safety improvements matter.