Bike Lanes

NYCDOT unveiled a slate of pedestrian and bicycle improvements to the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 3 last night. Presenters asked for votes on two street safety projects: the construction of a planted center median on the Bowery between Canal and Division streets, and the addition of new curbside bike routes to improve connections to the Williamsburg Bridge.

The transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 2 voted unanimously Tuesday night to advance the idea of improving cycling connections between Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods. The proposal put forward by committee member Mike Epstein envisions safer bicycling across Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, spanning intersections that are currently among the most dangerous in Brooklyn. A resolution asking DOT to study the plan's feasibility is now expected to come up before the full board at a meeting next month.

Marty Markowitz may have gummed up plans to make walking and biking in Park Slope safer and more convenient, but the Prospect Park West bike lane has a champion in the City Council. District 39 rep Brad Lander says he wants the project to move forward.

Delhi currently has separated cycle tracks along its BRT corridors. Image: BRT_Delhi/Flickr On Monday, we reported on Delhi’s decision to install bike lanes on all its major roads — an intriguing piece of news from a developing world metropolis where private motoring appears poised to potentially overwhelm the city’s streets. We noted that it seemed … Continued

The seemingly perpetual conflict in Williamsburg over bike lanes has seen a lot of twists and turns the last few years. The issue has surfaced in City Council elections, on the local community board, and in proposed direct actions -- from a topless bike ride to intentionally blocking cyclists with school buses. Last night, each side took it inside for a debate hosted by Pete's Candy Store. 

Delhi, home to over 12 million people and the seat of India's national government, is widely considered to have the most dangerous traffic in the world. As the Guardian wrote recently, traffic safety in Delhi basically consists of "good horns, good brakes, good luck." Nationally, crashes in India killed more than 130,000 people -- 85 percent of whom were pedestrians and cyclists -- in 2007 alone.

A reader sent in these photos from a media scrum last Friday evening in the Tillary Street bike lane in Downtown Brooklyn. Notice how the press vehicles have completely blocked the two-way protected lane, forcing cyclists onto the other side of the barrier.

Activists from Monday morning's guerrilla bike lane striping on Bedford Avenue say two individuals were indeed given summonses for criminal mischief, contrary to media reports published today. Police haven't yet answered inquiries from Streetsblog, but organizers of the action confirmed that two were charged.

For your viewing pleasure this morning, YouTube footage of yesterday's early a.m. direct action on Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg. It's hard to say for sure, but it looks like the Hasidic bike lane painters chose to stay off-camera. After the jump, a look at the results in broad daylight, courtesy of a tipster.