Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bus Speed

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.

Photo: Kevin Duggan|

Cyclists routinely use Fifth Avenue, despite the lack of protected bike facilities.

Mayor Adams's scaled down redesign of Fifth Avenue — which cut a bus lane and bike lane out of an earlier plan put forward under the de Blasio administration — isn't a "real solution" to safety issues on busy retail corridor, the local community board charged last week.

Manhattan Community Board 5 on Thursday voted in favor of a resolution calling on Mayor Adams to implement his predecessor's 2021 proposal for Fifth Avenue, which would have turned the strip into a busway with wider sidewalks and a protected bike lane. The board's resolution — which passed unanimously — urged Adams to implement the 2021 proposal immediately, rather than in 2028 as currently scheduled.

"A real solution to the bike / pedestrian safety issue on 5th Avenue must be proposed in the final design to ensure that cyclists and pedestrians will not have conflict, including the consideration of a marked shared path on the sidewalk or a fully protected bike-lane on the Avenue," the resolution said, "even if removing an additional travel lane is required to make that feasible."

Fifth Avenue today has two bus lanes, three lanes for private vehicles, 23 feet for pedestrians and no dedicated space for cyclists. The 2021 plan would have kept the two bus lanes while repurposing two vehicle lanes for more space for people on foot and bike.

The 2022 renderings had a protected bike lane, two bus lanes, and just one car lane. Rendering: Fifth Avenue Association

Mayor Adams instead announced his own, watered down version of the plan last October, which eliminated the proposed bike lane and one of the bus lanes in favor of a second lane for private autos and even wider sidewalks. Adams also punted the actual implementation of the plan to the next administration (barring his reelection), just like de Blasio did.

“We want a real solution to the bike and pedestrian safety issue,” explained CB 5 Vice Chair Samir Lavingia, who spoke to Streetsblog in his personal capacity.

“We need to do something to alleviate congestion problems on the sidewalk, we need to do something to make it so the buses run faster, and we need to do something to make sure bicyclists feel safer," Lavingia said.

Fifth Avenue is among the busiest pedestrian corridors in the city, with over 5,400 walkers per hour at peak times and over 23,000 per hour on holiday weekends. Board members agreed that expanding the sidewalk should alleviate crowding, but also expressed concern that without proper bike lanes, cyclists will ride on the sidewalk and endanger pedestrians and themselves. 

“I think we all know [cyclists] are going to be there anyway, whether you accommodate them or not,” CB 5 Transportation Committee Chair David Sigman said at the June 23 meeting where DOT presented Adams's scaled-back design. 

MTA officials previously told Streetsblog the move to scrap one of the street's two bus lanes would slow bus service for the 110,000 daily commuters on what is the busiest bus corridor in Manhattan.

Passenger vehicles make up only 5 percent of people using the strip, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation — yet cars have two lanes there under the plan hatched by retail interests and the Adams administration.

Adams's proposal for the corridor was drawn up in coordination with the powerful Fifth Avenue Association business group. The association's CEO, Madelyn Wils, insisted to board members at the June 23 committee meeting that her group "tried" to fit a bike lane but "just couldn't make it work" — even as they found a way to remove a bus lane in favor of a second car lane.

“There’s just not enough room on every street for everything," said Wils. “It’s not like we didn’t try, we tried, we just couldn’t make it work.”

Gridlock on Fifth AvenuePhoto: Bess Adler

For members of the board, four years (and counting) of inaction through two and potentially three different mayors shows a lack of will to stand up to retail interests and do the right thing.

"The current administration would rather measure ten times and cut once,” said Lavingia. "There are plans and proposals that have been on the shelf for years, and would take between one and two months to implement. I think there’s just an appetite for quicker changes."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Just Absurd’: Adams Calls Unsafe McGuinness Blvd. Compromise a ‘Win’ Despite Lewis-Martin Bribery Indictment

The mayor sees no reason to revisit McGuinness even though the safety redesign was tainted by what the Manhattan DA calls a "classic bribery" scheme.

August 22, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Ingrid’s Side Gig Edition

The mayor's former top adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, thought she'd gotten a big acting break. But it was the beginning of the end. Plus other news.

August 22, 2025

‘Classic Bribery’: How a Powerful Brooklyn Family Crashed and Burned Over a Simple Bike Lane

Imagine destroying everything you've spent decades building to stop the city from building a bike lane. Welcome to Gina and Tony Argento's world.

August 22, 2025

Katie Wilson’s Success in Seattle Shows Again that Urbanism Is A Winning Campaign Issue

The advocate's strong early performance in Seattle's mayoral primary — following Zohran Mamdani's similar triumph — shows what you can do when you focus on transit.

August 22, 2025

Friday Video: How to Gear Up For Your Fall Bike Commute

The only must-haves for a cycling commute are a bike and a place you feel safe riding — but a few accessories don't hurt, either.

August 22, 2025

READ IT: The Argentos Bribed Lewis-Martin to Halt McGuinness Bike Lane, DA Says

Two members of a powerful Brooklyn theatrical production family bribed Mayor Adams's chief adviser to block the safety redesign of McGuinness Boulevard, court papers show.

August 21, 2025
See all posts