Cyclists Tell Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo: The Bedford Ave. Bike Lane is a Lifesaver

On Tuesday, a Brooklyn judge will decide whether the city Department of Transportation can go ahead with Mayor Adams's plan to uninstall safety improvements along a three-block segment of the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane that the agency installed late last year.

The case will be heard by Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo, who has in the past made campaign contributions to the Brooklyn Democratic Party as well as former Assembly Member Frank Seddio, who is now leading the legal case against the bike lane.

As part of his case, Seddio last week submitted affidavits from two residents of the area, Nathan Schwartz and Samuel Herskovitz, who say the bike lane has made pedestrians less safe. Schwartz's sworn affidavit claims that bikes "rocket down" the bike lane, and Herskovitz said that his hand was once struck by the rider of an electric moped "flying over 45 miles per hour" in the bike lane, which he admitted he entered without looking.

Supporters, such as Streetsfilms videographer Clarence Eckerson Jr. and former DOT official Jon Orcutt, have submitted affidavits, but it may not be enough to persuade Walker-Diallo, a documented campaign contributor to Seddio. To help balance the scales of justice, Streetsblog collected testimonials from users of the bike lane to demonstrate how transformative it has been.

Laurence Beckham, Park Slope

Bedford Avenue is an essential part of my commute from Brooklyn to Queens and I use it most weekends, too. It’s sad that the opponents are ignorant of the safety it brings to all of us. It upsets me that the FDNY, a public safety agency, places a Dumpster, vehicles and barriers in the bike lane in front of their fire house between Myrtle and Park avenues — and even park their personal vehicles on the sidewalk, which adds to the danger to pedestrians.

Taylor Behnke, Crown Heights

Prior to the Bedford bike lane, I avoided Bedford because it always felt like I was literally risking my life. There would always be cars parked in the unprotected lane and you'd have to weave in and out amongst the large trucks that also drive along that route. I could easily see how a cyclist could get killed. Now I take the protected lane all the time. I feel so much safer, and I feel like I can visit north Brooklyn much more often because the lane fills a transit gap for getting around in the borough without having to go into Manhattan and then back out on the train. 

Bobby [last name not provided], Clinton Hill

I’ve been a daily cyclist in Brooklyn for 10 years. I swore off Bedford Ave about four years ago — I was positive that if I continued to commute south of Atlantic to north of Flushing, I would get killed by a car or bus. I can’t really summarize in a short response how much danger I have experienced on this street. The new bike lane brings a level of protection, optimism and calm to a stretch most people seem to treat as a highway.

Mike Lydon, Bedford-Stuyvesant

Our family lives between Bedford and Nostrand avenues. I bike my two children to school every day and we now use Bedford Avenue instead of Classon because it has become so much safer. We also use the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane to get home from swim classes in Crown Heights. Before the protected bike lane my wife made me promise to never bike the children on it because the driving behavior was so outrageous — speeding drivers would frequently use the old buffered bike lane as a passing or left turn lane. Drivers would also double park incessantly, forcing cyclists out into chaotic traffic. 

Now the street is so much calmer. Traffic flows, but is slower as the floating parking lane has created [made] speeding feel less comfortable. The left-turns for vehicles off Bedford are also safer due to tighter geometry that forces drivers to slow down. And most importantly for our neighbors, crossing the street on foot is so much easier and safer, too. The painted pedestrian islands shorten the crossing distance and daylighting treatments make people walking more visible. The bike corrals are also being used more than I expected, especially near the Bedford YMCA where existing racks are always full. 

Surely behavior by people using the lane isn’t perfect, but I’ve seen very few bad actors, mostly it’s just people riding contraflow for a block or two because that movement feels safer than using Nostrand or the unprotected bike lane on Franklin. 

Max Vilgalys, Bedford-Stuyvesant

The bike lane vastly improves my walking and biking experience in this neighborhood. The cars are simply too fast and reckless — the protected bike lane made me feel much safer not just on the bike, but also walking in the neighborhood. With less space for cars, there's less aggressive and dangerous behavior. I wish the bike lane extended all the way down Bedford – maybe with the new mayor.

Matthew Rader, Bedford-Stuyvesant

Bedford Avenue has always been a superhighway of carnage. Car drivers go fast and recklessly, parking wherever they want and whenever they want without fear of any repercussions from the police and it has only gotten worse. From the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to Marcy Avenue, this neighborhood has some of the worse rush hour traffic in Brooklyn. It is a mess and that mess has nothing to do with a bike lane.    

After many years of promises, it was a joy to see the protected bike lane installed. I have a young family of three girls and crossing Bedford on foot or on bike is always a dodgy situation. The protected bike lane makes pedestrians safer! It shrinks the width of Bedford and has throttled some of the crazy driving or at least made drivers think twice. The hardened daylighting at crossings is fantastic. Honestly, it's a wonder that such an obvious easy and cheap solution to increase pedestrian safety as been put off for so long.

I sympathize with the children that have had collisions with cyclists. I don't want to see anyone hurt. A lot of this problem could be solved by better infrastructure. There should be singular bus drop off zones instead of door-to-door service and those zones should be permanently hardened with daylighting and raised pedestrian bus islands to prevent double parking.

Every bike vs. child incident has come because of a lack of visibility because an unsupervised child darted between and oversized row of cars.  

Better visibility and some actual police enforcement of traffic parking and speed law are the solution — not the removal of the protected bike lane. A return to the unprotected bike lane would be a joke. It was always routinely double parked in making it close to useless anyways. Cars will double park in it up to the cross walk (or even in the crosswalk and on the sidewalk) ruining the safety gains of the daylighting that we have now. The local precinct is close to useless and could not care less about traffic safety when it comes to protecting pedestrians and cyclists from cars.

Matt [no last name provided], Bedford-Stuyvesant

The bike lane has vastly improved safety for cyclists and stopped a lot of the double parking and illegal idling on the road that has led to dangerous conditions on the road. It is vastly more comfortable to ride down this road and not have to deal with vehicles blocking the lane. I’ve never seen any pedestrian/bicycle safety issues. I understand some may not see the bikes in the lane, but that’s what looking before crossing is for, and enforcement of traffic laws.

Robert Coney, Bedford-Stuyvesant

Riding a bike on Bedford before the bike lane was harrowing and dangerous. With the bike lane it is much safer. Interaction with pedestrians has been challenging and there have been instances when pedestrians and children in particular don't seem to really understand the bike lane as a zone where caution is necessary.

Lewis Anderson, Bedford-Stuyvesant

Bedford Avenue was nothing short of a death trap to ride a bike on before the protected bike lane was built. I avoided it like the plague, but when there was no other option, I would have to expect to ride within arm's reach of a box truck, get cut off by a turning car and/or dodge a double-parked car door during my ride. The protected bike lane is an absolute joy and has transformed my ability to travel northbound through my neighborhood.

The protected bike lane isn’t without its flaws, and it definitely needs to be cleaned and maintained more regularly, but it’s still undoubtedly the best thing to happen to transportation in Brooklyn since the B44 bus became bendy. Franklin, Lafayette and DeKalb Avenues next, please!

Zack Youngren, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

I use the protected lane to bike to school 4 days a week, every week.

Before the protected lane, the "bike lane" was basically a parking lane. Every block had one or more cars parked in it. This is still true on Bedford south of Dean where the lane isn't protected. Every. Single. Block. Has at least one car. South of Atlantic, it's almost always just full of cars. I end up riding in the car lane more than the bike lane because trying to weave in and out is extremely dangerous.

With the new protected lane I can get where I'm going quickly and safely. There are (almost) never any cars in the lane, it's wide enough that I don't have to worry about getting doored, and it makes my commute nearly stress free north of Dean.

The lanes are a massive successes. It's a massive benefit to safety for everyone.

Ethan Andersen, Williamsburg

Most notable to me is how pleasant the new version of the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane is compared to Franklin Avenue just two blocks away. On Franklin and the old Bedford, double-parking and delivery trucks in the bike lane frequently cause bikers to have to swing into the nearest lane, causing discomfort and danger for both bikers and drivers. There's also a near constant fear of being doored at any moment. And don't get me started on Wallabout, which makes Franklin seem like a biker's paradise. 

Since the Bedford Avenue protection, biking there is a largely pleasant experience. I can often ride speedily and unimpeded, feeling relatively safe and happy compared to the nearby Franklin, Flushing and Wallabout experiences. 

Also notable is the feeling that I get when biking past Flushing Avenue, where the protected bike lane dissappears and you are spat out into a wide, busy road that's frequented by trucks and school buses. There's no bike lane in sight, the DOT patting you on the back with a "good luck, rider."

Nicolas Ries, Bedford-Stuyvesant

I am a pedestrian, cyclist and driver on Bedford Avenue. Before the protected bike lane, I avoided biking on Bedford entirely. There was no separation between cyclists and traffic. Cars frequently turned into the bike lane without checking for bikes. My wife got hit by an aggressive driver on Bedford while she was crossing the street. Even when drivers weren't driving in the bike land they still seemed angry that bikers were on the road. Sometimes yelling at us or speeding close next to us to make a point.

The protected bike lane didn't change drivers' attitudes, but it did make it at least possible to ride with my toddler on bedford ave. Because the drivers can't see us, they can't engage in aggressive behavior purposefully. And we don't get forced into speeding traffic whenever a car decides to double park. 

It's pretty simple for me. If there's no protected bike lane, I can't ride with my kid on Bedford. It's just too dangerous.

Bridget Barry, Clinton Hill

I was a homeowner on Skillman Street (one block from Bedford) between Lafayette and DeKalb for five years. My daughter attended preschool on Bedford and I walked that street every day with my most precious possession - my two-year-old. Prior to that, I lived elsewhere in Bed-Stuy and regularly needed to bike north within the neighborhood, but routinely avoided Bedford Avenue because of how terrifying it was as a cyclist.

I’ve since biked in the beautiful new bike lane, and it’s eased my fears a bit, but it feels only like a good start to a truly safe corridor. [Car traffic on] Bedford Ave. is too, fast the cars are too varied in size, the [school] buses stopping are too erratic. I regularly bike down Willoughby from my new house at Willoughby and Clinton, and when I cross Bedford from Willoughby, I’m heartened to see how many bikes are coming up Bedford - more bikes make all bikes safe.

Stripping the bike lane would be a political bargaining chip for [Mayor Adams] to try to curry favor from a voting block in the mayoral general election.

Parker [no last name given], Crown Heights

Four years ago, I decided to never bike down Bedford Ave again. I always felt unsafe, with cars bombing down the street and no protection between me and their reckless driving. On every block, there were cars and trucks double-parked in the bike lane, meaning I had to constantly merge with traffic, further putting myself at risk. It was a particularly dangerous stretch, and I could no longer justify taking it, despite it being an incredibly useful north-south corridor.

When the new bike lane was put in, I was ecstatic. It felt like an important -- and much-needed -- step in the direction of cyclist and pedestrian safety. I could finally use Bedford again, and felt secure, confident, and protected doing so. As a pedestrian in the area, I also benefit from the protected bike lane, as I have increased visibility for oncoming vehicular traffic.

The decision to remove a section of a key piece of public safety infrastructure in our city is disheartening to me, and a step in the completely wrong direction. Pedestrians and cyclists both benefit when protections are put in place for the other. I hope that the full Bedford Ave bike lane remains. It will undoubtedly save the lives of both cyclists and pedestrians.

Nathan Gamson, Bedford-Stuyvesant

I am a pedestrian, cyclist, and driver. As a driver, I believe a bike lane makes me safer as it provides more visibility to 'jaywalkers' that pop out onto the street between cars. It is a crucial buffer for kids who wander out into the street to prevent a collision with a vehicle.

As a cyclist, it is a crucial travel lane between Bedford Stuyvesant and Williamsburg. There are no other safe options in the area. I feel safer on a bicycle in a bike lane than sharing traffic with cars. It is crucial for cyclist safety. I have never experienced any sort of pushback while in a bike lane. By now, drivers expect to share the road with cyclists and behave accordingly.

As a pedestrian, I feel safer when cyclists do not share the sidewalk with me, which they might have to if there is no bike lane.

Alex Feldman, Ridgewood

I am a strong cyclist that often bikes with intermediates and riders who are still getting comfortable around fast moving cars. Having a protected bike lane means that we can travel safely on a once-dangerous street. Now one can take Bedford from nearly Sheepshead Bay to Greenpoint safely.

Daniel [no last name given], Flatbush

I’ve been a cyclist and driver on Bedford for the last 13 years. Up until recently the amount of aggression and incompetence of drivers, especially school buses and minivans associated with the neighborhood located in this thoroughfare of Bedford Ave, have caused me to take lengthy detours to avoid danger. (I have had MANY close encounters with vehicles turning or pulling out of a parking spot without proper indication).

Since the installation of the protected bike path, my commute has been significantly reduced and I worry less about my safety. I also believe that this physical barrier helps pedestrians crossing the street. This is one of the few North to South protected bike paths between Upper and lower Brooklyn, it would be a shame to cow-tow to a loud minority, instead of rallying for safe carbon-free transportation options.

Chava [no last name given], Bedford-Stuyvesant

I'm a Bed-Stuy resident who regularly bikes on Bedford Avenue because it's the only direct route to the Williamsburg Bridge. I used to joke that I should say "gomel," the Jewish prayer for surviving a fatal incident, every time I made it home alive.

Before there was a protected bike lane, cars or delivery vans were constantly parked there, which would require me to go around them into the pulsating traffic—and Bedford is a busy street—with cars and trucks weaving in and out trying to make the light. It felt like playing a video game, except you could die for real if you made a wrong move or didn't anticipate a car's behavior correctly.

Since the protected bike lane was put in, it's been a lot safer and less adrenaline-inducing as a cyclist. It hasn't changed my experience as a pedestrian too much, except for the shortened crossings.

Che Raskin, Williamsburg

I bike this route often, and feel way safer with the bike lanes in place. It is a net positive to the entire community.

John [no last name given], Bedford-Stuyvesant

The neighborhood feels so much safer with the bike lane, I feel a lot more comfortable getting around the city with it.

Kait Watson, Bedford-Stuyvesant

The lane is excellent and extremely necessary for the multitude of bike riders, when cop cars aren’t parked in it. Cyclists and pedestrians alike seem to benefit from the lane, even if it’s a small buffer from encroaching car traffic. People share easily. Once again, the most dangerous thing I see and experience is cop cars parked solidly in the lane, which forces cyclists into traffic suddenly and also creates a visual barrier where cars and cyclists can’t see pedestrians on the other side. To get rid of the bike lane would be deadly.

Zach Hewitt, Greenpoint

It makes zero sense for the larger community to remove any bike lane in the city. A barrier between bike lane and the sidewalk, and traffic could prevent even more accidents. I find that residents often double park in the bike lane in this neighborhood which is dangerous. Bedford Avenue is the main artery of cycling in Brooklyn. You can get from the very bottom of Brooklyn to the top... [the whole span] should be turned into a protected bike lane if anything, with physically separated walls between pedestrian and automobile traffic. Failure to see this is just ignorance.

Alex Politis, Bedford-Stuyvesant

The bike lane is a life saver. The traffic on Bedford is horrendous and before that protected lane was installed, I feared for my life every time I rode a bike down Bedford.

Kelly Fritz, Bedford-Stuyvesant/Bushwick

I’m a cyclist who’s lived in the area for many years now. I regularly use the Bedford Ave bike lane.

It’s absolutely bizarre to me that, rather than hardening the lane further and redesigning the street to incentivize safe driving, the city is considering removing the bike lane altogether.

This won’t prevent cyclists from continuing to use Bedford. It’s one of the most direct passages across Brooklyn, and people will continue to bike on it. Instead, removing the formal bike lane in one chunk in response to anti-bike sentiment will cause MORE injury to cyclists AND pedestrians. Bikes mixing with cars and trying to ride alongside them or weave through is more likely to cause serious injury for everyone.

If anything, the best way to ensure safety is to REMOVE PARKING from alongside the bike lane and harden it instead, a la Grand (although that has its own issues). No one is intentionally mowing down kids — it’s legitimately hard to see over/around the wall of parking next to the lane, especially if there are large cars, SUVs, etc parked there.

The best way to prevent collisions is to take away that parking, but as always in NYC, it seems free, completely unregulated street parking is worth more than the lives of children and of pedestrians and cyclists of all ages.

Mike Fraietta, Bedford-Stuyvesant

My family lives on Bedford Avenue. The protected bike lane has been great, we ride it with the kids daily now. I was hit by a Revel [scooter] turning left on Bedford and Myrtle avenues in 2023, and still have a shoulder injury. This would not have happened with the now-protected bike lane.

Mosha F., Bedford-Stuyvesant

The protected bike lane does more than just serve bikers passing thru the neighborhood. Bedford Ave was extremely wide and dangerous before and nearly every car was speeding like it as a highway. The narrowing of the Avenue by creating the protected bike lane immediately forced drivers to pay attention and drive slower.

It’s a blessing for our community and the Jewish children and others trying to cross at the pedestrian islands. Children and some adults will dart into traffic here and the new islands make the distance to cross much safer. There are MANY delivery cyclists using the bike lane to deliver food and groceries to our families & neighbors. Chestnut Market & Skillmart (Jewish owned businesses) especially benefit since they supply most of the groceries around here.

Without the protected bike lane, Bedford Avenue between Lafayette and Flushing was total gridlock from all the double parking. The new design prevents double parking as long as NYPD enforces and keeps things moving and keeps people from blocking the two lanes. Creation of no-parking areas where only delivery trucks may stand on Bedford from 8am-8pm like commercial neighborhoods in Manhattan would further improve the flow here and build on the improvement to this bustling neighborhood.

Update: July 2, 4:30 p.m. This article has been updated with more comments from users of the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane. To submit your testimony to Streetsblog, use this Google Form.