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Merchant Ire Over Deliveries, Placards Dominates UWS Bike Lane Meeting
Columbus Avenue merchants on the two blocks between 81st and 83rd Street led a chorus of complaints against that avenue's new protected bike lane at a raucous meeting of Manhattan CB 7's transportation committee last night. The committee co-chairs limited the discussion only to criticism of the bike lane, which runs from 96th to 77th Street, in an attempt to address specific complaints, but opposition quickly flew out of control. About half a dozen merchants spoke at the packed meeting, which at times descended into an anti-bike screaming match.
November 9, 2010
CB 12 Squabbling Delays Upper Manhattan Bike Lane Discussion
Build bike lanes? Manhattan's Community Board 12 doesn't even want to talk about bike lanes.
November 5, 2010
Heads Up: Columbus Ave Bike Lane Discussion Not Happening Tonight
Adjust your calendars: Manhattan CB 7 is pushing back its full board meeting, originally scheduled for tonight, to next Tuesday, the 9th. So you have a few more days to hone your Columbus Avenue bike lane testimony.
November 3, 2010
If the Streets Get Safer, Southern Brooklyn Residents Will Ride
Southern Brooklyn isn't necessarily known as the epicenter of New York City cycling. Car-ownership rates are some of the highest in the city, and elected officials from the area tend to be particularly vocal livable streets opponents. But a recent, admittedly unscientific, survey shows that there's a hunger for bike infrastructure from Sheepshead Bay to Mill Basin.
October 7, 2010
CB 11 Committee Approves Safety Fixes for Harlem River Park Access
Manhattan Community Board 11's transportation committee voted in favor of a slate of safety improvements along the Harlem River waterfront last night, a project that will give New Yorkers better access to the underutilized Harlem River Park. Changes like pedestrian refuge islands, sidewalk extensions, and leading pedestrian intervals got a thumbs up from committee members, but they put on hold a plan to reverse the direction of a service road along 135th Street. DOT's full plan is available for download in this PDF.
October 6, 2010
Manhattan CB 7 Demands 800 Fewer Parking Spaces at Riverside Center
Manhattan Community Board 7 approved its recommendations for the Riverside Center mega-project in a special meeting last night, laying out a long list of demands. Many of the modifications would make the development more walkable, whether by integrating the project with the city's streets and sidewalks or, more controversially, reducing the amount of parking proposed for the site. The board wants Extell Development to chop the number of parking spaces in its proposal from 1,800 to 1,000.
July 23, 2010
Manhattan CB4 Wants the Full Safety Treatment for Eighth Ave Bike Lane
Last night Manhattan Community Board 4 voted unanimously in favor of an 11-block extension for the Eighth Avenue bike lane, which would bring the protected bikeway up to 34th Street. In an interesting flourish, the board asked that the extension include separate left-turn phases for bikes and cars.
July 22, 2010
Manhattan CB 5 Listens to Reason, Endorses Union Square Plan
After some vocal complaints spurred compromises to NYCDOT's ambitious original proposal to redesign the streets near Union Square, Manhattan Community Board 5 held strong last night, voting 24-1-1 to move forward with the fundamental safety features of the plan. Rather than cave to the most belligerent core of anti-bike residents and NIMBY businesses, the board actually strengthened its resolve in the face of irrational and uncompromising opposition.
July 9, 2010
Land Use Process Likely Safe in Charter Revision, But Major Issues Simmer
Former Staten Island Council Member Stephen Fiala defends the role of borough presidents in land use decision-making. Image: SI Advance. The city’s Charter Revision Commission held its fifth issue forum last night, discussing the city’s complex land use process. Based on the commentary of a panel of expert witnesses, a major revision of the city’s … Continued
June 25, 2010
DOT Compromises, to a Point, on Union Square Plan
It took a few tries, but the Department of Transportation finally won the support of Manhattan Community Board 5's Transportation Committee for its Union Square bike-ped plan last night. While a few safety improvements were sacrificed to local objections, the community board rejected calls by a particularly aggressive minority to scrap the centerpieces of the plan, including an extension of Broadway's protected bike lane, a traffic-calming pedestrian plaza, and the conversion of 17th Street into a one-way with a contraflow bike lane.
June 22, 2010