Protected Bike Lanes

Like their counterparts at Community Board 4, members of the Manhattan Community Board 5 transportation committee think DOT's proposed redesign of Sixth Avenue isn't bold enough. Unlike CB 4, the committee voted for the plan anyway in a unanimous decision last night.

DOT presented a plan for a protected bike lane on 19 blocks of Sixth Avenue to the Manhattan Community Board 4 transportation committee last night. From 14th Street to 33rd Street, the design calls for carving out a six-foot bike lane and three-foot buffer protected from moving motor vehicles by a lane of parked cars [PDF].

The room was packed last night for DOT's long-awaited plan for a protected bike lane and pedestrian islands on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side [PDF], with about 120 people turning out at the Manhattan Community Board 7 transportation committee meeting. Most residents and committee members praised the plan, though no vote was held. DOT says it could implement the redesign between 72nd Street and 110th Street as soon as next spring.

It's happening: At tonight's Community Board 7 transportation committee meeting, NYC DOT will present plans for a northbound protected bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side.

Next week -- November 10 to be precise -- DOT is expected to present a proposal to redesign Amsterdam Avenue for greater safety. The redesign is a long time coming. This summer marked the third time in the past six years that Manhattan Community Board 7 has asked DOT for a protected bike lane on Amsterdam.

DOT tweeted a status report this afternoon on the First Avenue protected bike lane gap. Green paint is down on the newly protected section between 49th Street and 56th Street:

Last week DOT posted photos of construction work on the Pulaski Bridge bikeway on the project's Facebook page. DOT is adding a protected lane that will create more room for people who bike and walk the bridge, which connects Greenpoint and Long Island City over Newtown Creek.