Protected Bike Lanes

Transportation Alternatives will officially kick off Bike Month tomorrow with a morning ride down the 9th Avenue cycle track. The ride will start at 9th and 23rd Street, and will end at the 14th Street pedestrian plaza, where there will be a press conference to highlight Bike Month events. Word is DOT Commish Janette Sadik-Khan will be on hand.

Here's how space is divvied up on Kent Avenue today...

Congestion pricing may be dead for the moment, but livable streets advocates can't afford to let that sap our strength or motivation. There are plenty of changes to be made that need grassroots support -- and not one iota of approval from Albany -- to reach fruition. One of those measures will face a crucial test later today.

This classic StreetFilm by Clarence Eckerson, Jr., "The Case for Separated Bike Lanes" (original release date: February 17, 2007), is enjoying a renaissance this week. First, a post on TaketheTooker featured the film and sparked a discussion about the merits of bike lanes compared to riding in traffic. Then TreeHugger picked up the thread and posted a survey, asking whether protected lanes would encourage cycling. 

As a candidate for a livable streets makeover, Columbus Avenue is a no-brainer. A block from Central Park, it is home to the American Museum of Natural History and sports a string of active ground floor businesses, but the street itself is a classically car-oriented corridor: three moving lanes sandwiched between two parking lanes. The Columbus Avenue BID has been working with Project for Public Spaces to make the street itself more of a destination -- to create a walkable, transit-oriented "spine" running from the museum to Lincoln Center on Broadway.

Streetsblog reader Dave Goldberg sends along a camera phone photo of the freshly striped Bleecker Street bike lane, shot between LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street. Goldberg notes:

About 70 people showed up for a screening of the documentary film Contested Streets and a follow-up conversation on transportation issues last night. Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Assembly member Deborah Glick were not among them, both claiming last minute conflicts. The event was hosted by Manhattan Community Board 2. 

For years, Livable Streets advocates have pleaded with New York City's Department of Transportation to just try new things. Do street design experiments using temporary materials. Give new ideas a shot. If an experiment doesn't work, take it down, redesign it, improve it or, heck, just restore it to how it used to be. What do we have to lose? If we don't start figuring out new ways to design and manage New York City's streets, all we're left with is a future of ever-increasing gridlock, pollution and honking.