The Department of Transportation is moving forward with a less-safe bike lane plan to connect two popular cycling routes after locals complained about losing parking.
The agency had initially proposed in December that it would extend an existing two-way protected bike lane on Dyckman Street westward all the way to the popular Hudson River Greenway. But after presenting the so-called Riverside Drive Greenway Connector to Community Board 12, the agency changed its plan, and is now proposing to reroute cyclists from Dyckman onto Riverside Drive — directly in the path of fast-moving drivers entering the Henry Hudson Parkway.
The agency said it altered the plan after the "community" indicated a "preference to reducing parking impact in the neighborhood.” But the impact to cyclists will be profound, locals said. The new proposal would force cyclists into the path of drivers — and history suggests that the DOT knows this is unsafe.
After all, until 2022, there was a crosswalk across the entrance ramp, alerting drivers to the fact that pedestrians and cyclists were allowed to cross there. After 2022, the crosswalk suddenly disappears, evidence that DOT no longer encourages pedestrians or cyclists to use that route:
Drivers who enter the parkway northbound at Staff Street do face a stop sign, but as Streetsblog found, they rarely observe its admonition to brake. Here’s a montage of what that looks like:
The DOT's proposal includes no changes to the intersection except for a curb extension that will create "a safe waiting area" for cyclists. Furthermore, the agency plan would also remove the existing concrete median, which could allow for drivers exiting the highway to make illegal left-turns on to Staff Street, further increasing the intersection's danger.
Worse, the new proposal for a Riverside Drive bike lane between Broadway and Staff Street does nothing to solve two existing problems: cyclists in both directions will be forced to share a super-skinny sidewalk west of Staff Street with pedestrians in both directions.
And after that, there's a flight of stairs that cyclists would have to climb with their vehicles.
"I never go down that path," said Theoren, an Inwood resident, citing the stairs and the narrow lane.
As a result, most cyclists use Dyckman Street west of the protected portion. Even though it's unprotected, it leads directly into a ramp up to the greenway. But this is where about 40 spaces of car storage would have been repurposed for cyclists.
One local activist said the plan is "ridiculous."
"No one's gonna use it," said Inwood resident and cyclist Allegra LeGrande. "Why would you use a staircase when there's a ramp?"
DOT declined to comment for this story.
