Bike Lanes

First things first. David Yassky's status update beats what we've seen from Marty Markowitz, hands down. And if anyone in the City Council can credibly claim the mantle of bike advocate, it's Yassky: a steady voice in support of a car-free Prospect Park and forceful proponent of the Bikes in Buildings Bill. But this gesture of solidarity would sure feel a lot stronger if Yassky had stood with cyclists trying to preserve safety improvements on Kent Avenue, instead of giving his signature to the parking chauvinists attempting to roll back those advances.

Here's a chance to send some positive reinforcement to the folks who cope with the incessant griping of the SoHo gentry, Williamsburg car owners, Council member Alan Gerson, and others who want to roll back and delay the strides New York City is taking to make streets safer for biking.

Sean Sweeney, the one-man show known as the Soho Alliance, has been sending this video around to the media, continuing his quest to preserve Soho streets for the convenience of motorists. What we basically have here is a careless truck driver butting grilles with a sociopath behind the wheel of an SUV. Sweeney's conclusion: Give these vehicles more street space and forget about providing cyclists with a basic safety amenity.

As City Council Member Alan Gerson attempts to codify opposition to livable streets improvements, Lower Manhattan restaurateur Florent Morellet (a.k.a. the "Unofficial Mayor of the Meatpacking District") has filed a refreshing op-ed in The Villager, touting the commercial benefits of cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure. 

In 2006, Alan Gerson helmeted-up and rallied for a protected bike lane on Houston St.

These DOT photos [PDF] show off the revamped Bronx Hub -- the shopping district and transit nexus in Melrose that just received a slew of livable streets improvements. Planters, surfacing, and a few strategically placed concrete islands demarcate pretty substantial new swaths of pedestrian space, including a block-long plaza (shown above and in bird's eye view below). There's also a short stretch of exclusive bus territory and some interesting bike lane treatments. Follow the jump for more pics.

New York's latest bike lane skirmish flared up Monday night at a "transportation town hall" in Williamsburg. About 150 people turned out, and DOT bike program coordinator Josh Benson caught an earful from bike lane opponents upset over new parking rules on Kent Avenue, in effect since last month.

When we posted pics of the new Williamsburg Bridge bike lanes last Friday, Streetsblog commenters wondered if, since one of the lanes directs cyclists onto a sidewalk, police might be lying in wait. Wrote Barnard: "Just because bicycling is legal doesn't mean the NYPD won't write you a ticket for it!"