Made in the Shade: First Look at the Broadway Bike Lane By Van Cortlandt Park

The northwest Bronx got its first splash of green bike lane paint this week, with DOT contractors laying down a two-way protected bike lane on Broadway along Van Cortlandt Park.

The DOT redesign reduces crossing distances 30 percent by narrowing Broadway's extra-wide parking lanes and installing a protected bike lane along the east curb north of 246th Street [PDF]. The project also includes concrete bus boarding islands at eight locations.

The impetus for the redesign came from Council Member Andy Cohen. In 2015, Cohen asked the city to calm traffic on Broadway north of 242nd Street, where drivers killed 10 pedestrians between 2010 and 2014.

Bronx Community Board 8 opposed the project and passed a resolution last year ticking off a list of gripes. Cohen didn't waver, however, and Assembly Member Jeff Dinowitz also stood up for the project.

“I think that the street is too fast, is too wide, and has got a lot of unsafe crossings and design,” Cohen said last year. “I asked the DOT to come up with a safety plan, and this is what they produced.”

In March, DOT informed the board it would proceed with the redesign.