Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Eyes on the Street

Eyes on the Street: New Bike Lanes Around Union Square

DOT crews installing a new protected bike lane on 4th Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets earlier this week. Photo: NYC DOT
DOT crews installing a new protected bike lane on Fourth Avenue between 12th and 13th streets earlier this week. Photo: NYC DOT
You'll be seeing a lot of this kind of work in Brooklyn this year. Photo: NYC DOT

DOT began installing new bike lanes leading to and around Union Square this week.

The project -- which will eventually include a two-way protected lane around the park's eastern and northern edges -- is not nearly complete, but fresh paint along Fourth Avenue between 12th and 15th heralds bigger changes on the way.

In addition to the new protected lanes, the project adds painted lanes on 15th Street between First Avenue and Union Square East, on 16th Street between Stuyvesant Square and Union Square East, and on 17th Street between Union Square West and Sixth Avenue.

Riding on Fourth Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets. Photo: David Meyer
Fourth Avenue between 14th and 15th streets. Photo: David Meyer
Riding on Fourth Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets. Photo: David Meyer

The Lafayette Street/Fourth Avenue protected lane previously ended at 12th Street. The new design is only parking-protected up to 13th Street. This afternoon it was filled with illegally parked cars between 13th and 14th streets, where there is a no standing zone.

The bulk of the green paint installed so far ends at 15th Street, with a little more on Union Square East just north of 16th Street.

DOT has marked where the new two-way lane will be installed around Union Square's western and northern borders. There's already a bike lane there, but it's regularly filled with parked NYPD vehicles. That was the case this afternoon, as shown in the photo below.

These NYPD vehicles are already parked in a bike lane. Let's hope they're gone when that lane gets protected in the coming weeks. Photo: David Meyer
These NYPD vehicles are parked in a bike lane. Let's hope they're gone when the lane is upgraded in the coming weeks. Photo: David Meyer
These NYPD vehicles are already parked in a bike lane. Let's hope they're gone when that lane gets protected in the coming weeks. Photo: David Meyer

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Appeals Court Halts Adams’s Impending Bedford Ave. Protected Bike Lane Demolition

The judge's ruling came just as the city was set to begin the bike lane demolition process Tuesday evening.

July 15, 2025

New Yorkers Threaten Legal Action If Eric Adams Makes Bedford Ave. Less Safe for Cyclists

Brooklyn cyclists pledged to sue the city if they are killed or injured on Bedford Avenue after Mayor Adams makes it less safe.

July 15, 2025

E-Bike Fans and Foes Agree: Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit Won’t Make Streets Safer

A public hearing about the mayor's proposed speed limit devolved into a debate about e-bike licensing, naturally.

July 15, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Wet Wet Wet Edition

New York City experienced its second rainiest hour in history. Plus more news.

July 15, 2025

Civic Panel Dings Adams For Cutting Bike and Bus Lanes Out of Fifth Av. Redesign

Mayor Adams's scaled down redesign of Fifth Avenue isn't a "real solution" to safety issues on the packed retail corridor, Manhattan Community Board 5 said.

July 14, 2025
See all posts