Bike Lanes

As with any thriving metropolis, the New York streetscape is constantly changing. Whether related to sidewalk and street repair, utility maintenance or building construction, obstacles emerge and disappear around the clock, often leaving changes in their wake, in every corner of the city.

Brooklyn's new guerrilla bike lane has a life of its own.

Bike lane mileage in Long Island City and Sunnyside, Queens, is set to double next year, under a preliminary plan from the Department of Transportation, with significant expansions to follow in subsequent years. The nine miles of new routes -- along 11th Street, Skillman Avenue, 47th Avenue and 39th Street -- were selected in a community planning process convened earlier this year by Community Board 2 and City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer.

Streetsblog reader and former Manhattan Community Board 2 standout Ian Dutton has hit upon a low-cost way to keep the Bergen Street bike lane clear of NYPD squad cars. The short piece of Bergen between Sixth Avenue and Flatbush is routinely blocked by the 78th Precinct's vehicles, so Ian took advantage of some idle Con-Ed construction posts (they had been left by the curb during some utility work) to clearly mark off the bike lane. The markers went down on Monday and they kept the squad cars out at least until Wednesday evening. Today Ian reports that Con-Ed is using the cones to direct traffic away from a cut in the street, and the separation is gone -- for now.

Well, the paint and striping aren't all the way there yet, but there's now room to bike in both directions on Plaza Street in Brooklyn. Doug Gordon posted a few pictures on BrooklynSpoke this morning, and reader Steve O'Neill sent in a few more. This DOT project will make it much more convenient to bike between the neighborhoods surrounding Grand Army Plaza while following the letter of the law, but lacks the physical protection of an earlier plan. Word is the implementation will wrap up pretty quickly.

Which parts of Manhattan have seen the healthiest commercial real estate markets since the economic collapse of 2008? It's the Meatpacking District and the area around Broadway between Union and Herald Squares, according to a new report by broker Janet Liff [PDF], covered by Crain's last week. Notably, says Liff, both of those neighborhoods have received significant improvements to their streets, adding more public space and increasing safety for walking and biking.

More streetscape news from Midtown: In addition to the Eighth Avenue bike lane expansion and the installation of 6 1/2 Avenue, DOT is already at work on new crosstown lanes. Steve O., a.k.a. @eveostay, snapped this shot today at the brand new intersection of the E. 51st Street lane and 6 1/2 Ave.

Thirteen months ago, Brooklyn Community Board 10 voted against painting a bike lane on Bay Ridge Parkway. The lane would have removed neither a travel lane nor parking from the road, but was still voted down by an overwhelming margin: 32 to 8. Council Members Dominic Recchia, Vincent Gentile, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio all piled on with statements of opposition.

After local residents and community organizations began organizing to bring bike lanes to East New York and Brownsville last year, NYC DOT is developing a plan to stripe the first bike routes directly through these neighborhoods, and more could be on the way.