DOT staff led a celebratory ride on the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge over Newtown Creek this morning to mark the completion of new bike lanes between Brooklyn and Queens.
The lanes provide safer passage on what had been a nerve-wracking crossing next to fast-moving traffic and lots of trucks. The project was first proposed in 2010 and revived earlier this year in a modified plan that called for curbside buffered bike lanes. Cyclists this morning discovered the final project has an extra bit of protection from traffic on the bridge: DOT has added plastic bollards to keep drivers out of the bikeway.
On the Brooklyn side, the bridge connects to reconfigured bike lanes on Greenpoint Avenue. On the Queens side, sharrows are being added as part of a separate project.
Now, attention shifts to the other bike project linking Brooklyn and Queens: the long-awaited Pulaski Bridge bikeway. The early stages of construction have begun on that project, which involves more heavy-duty roadwork than the Greenpoint Avenue bike lanes. It's set to open by the end of this year.
