Community Boards

The Kent Avenue bike path was not the most hotly debated item at last night's Brooklyn CB1 meeting. That distinction belongs to the rezoning plan for the area known as Broadway Triangle. But DOT's team still encountered some skepticism from North Brooklyn residents concerned about truck traffic. The revised plan [PDF], which calls for a two-way protected bike path on Kent with one-way auto traffic, would divert southbound trucks along a different route.

If you live in Williamsburg or Greenpoint, you can't miss this community board action. DOT will present its revised plan for Kent Avenue tonight to Brooklyn CB1. Public support for the proposed two-way protected bike path will be critical, and if you sign up by 6:15 p.m., you can speak in favor of an improvement that will make cyclists safer and establish the footprint of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

Just about every New York City neighborhood has to deal with the consequences of dirt cheap on-street parking. When you practically give away spaces at rock-bottom prices, it guarantees double parking and endless cruising for spots by bargain hunting drivers. Which is bad news for all the bus riders, cyclists, and delivery drivers who have to contend with the clogged curbs, extra traffic, and lane-blocking vehicles that result.

On Wednesday night, Manhattan Community Board 10 voted not to approve a buffered bike lane along Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard but left the door open for a second vote and a different outcome. The decision followed a unanimous vote by the board's transportation committee in favor of the new lane. For the time being, at least, a major addition to Harlem's bike network is on hold.

Just a reminder that Community Board 10 will consider a new buffered bike lane for Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard tonight. The lane, from W. 118th to W. 153rd Street, would complete a direct cyclist route between Central Park and the Macombs Dam Bridge, and would serve to calm traffic as well, as bikes would replace one thru lane for cars.

Plans for new bike and traffic-calming facilities in Harlem will go before Community Board 10 tomorrow night. As we reported last month, DOT intends to replace one lane of auto traffic with a buffered bike lane on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard between W. 118th and W. 153rd Streets [PDF], completing a direct marked route between Central Park and the Macombs Dam Bridge.

Compared to downtown Manhattan, the bike network in Harlem is on the patchy side, with only a few on-street lanes. Safer streets are on the way, however. Last week, DOT presented plans for a buffered bike path on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard to a neighborhood forum put on by Community Board 10. The new lane would run from 153rd Street to 118th Street, connecting to an existing route that feeds into Central Park.

Tonight, at a transportation committee meeting of Brooklyn Community Board 6, DOT will present plans for a two-way protected bike path along Prospect Park West, from Union Street to Bartel Pritchard Square. The proposal would reduce the number of traffic lanes on the high-speed thoroughfare from three to two, according to the meeting agenda.