Kent Avenue: A Bikeway for All Ages

While Clarence was out this weekend taping Right of Way install a memorial to victims of traffic violence, he also got this footage of the Kent Avenue bike lane in Williamsburg. Where else but a protected bike lane will you ever see so many kids biking on the street in NYC?

Not that long ago, Kent Avenue was a high-speed truck route where only the bravest souls ventured forth on a bicycle. Today it’s a low-speed neighborhood street and one of the most important bike transportation links in the city.

NYC DOT’s 2009 redesign of Kent Avenue added a two-way protected bike lane while converting motor vehicle traffic to one-way flow. For fast-growing waterfront neighborhoods that don’t have great walking access to the subway, the bikeway is a transportation lifeline.

Note that many shots in Clarence’s video show a temporary design that preserves the continuity of the bike lane and walkway on a block that’s been narrowed by construction. The whole Kent Avenue bikeway is an intermediary step on the way to a permanent Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, running from Greenpoint to Sunset Park.