Greenpoint

A protected bike lane on the Pulaski Bridge -- calming traffic heading to McGuinness Boulevard and providing much more breathing room than the bridge's narrow bike/ped path alone -- has cleared a significant planning hurdle. In a letter to Assembly Member Joe Lentol [PDF], DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said that the proposal meets traffic analysis requirements, and that an engineering study and recommendations will be made by the end of the year:

Here's a welcome sign on the front door to Greenpoint Finest Deli, at the corner of Manhattan and Norman Avenues. The notice, ostensibly from NYPD, reminds drivers and passengers of their obligation to look before opening the door of parked cars. "Summonses will be issued," the sign warns.

Quick update on the campaign for a protected two-way bikeway on the Pulaski Bridge: We don't know if DOT is going to implement one yet, but we know when they'll make a decision. Yesterday, Assembly Member Joe Lentol sent out word that DOT chief Janette Sadik-Khan told him the agency will wrap up its feasibility study of the bikeway by March:

Last night, Brooklyn Community Board 1's transportation committee voted 3-0 in favor of a preliminary design for the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway's first capital project on West Street in Greenpoint, and, in a separate 3-0 vote, endorsed pedestrian safety improvements for Borinquen Place in Williamsburg. These projects will bring major improvements for biking and walking on these two North Brooklyn streets.

The NYC Department of Transportation is undertaking a feasibility study for constructing a protected bike lane on the Pulaski Bridge connecting Greenpoint and Long Island City, agency representatives said at a neighborhood transportation town hall on Monday night.

NYC DOT and consultants for the Department of Design and Construction gave Greenpoint residents a glimpse of preliminary designs for the West Street segment of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Wednesday night at a full meeting of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The two-way bikeway proposed for West Street is the first of 23 capital projects that will eventually comprise the finished, 14-mile greenway.

Over the past week, the long G train outage caused by flooding from Hurricane Sandy brought the need for changes to the Pulaski Bridge into starker relief. Streetsblog received multiple reports of extreme crowding on the bridge's narrow bike and pedestrian path, which could have been relieved with a protected bikeway across the bridge.

The narrow bike and pedestrian path across the Pulaski Bridge has long been a concern for bridge users and local residents. Earlier this month, Assembly Member Joseph Lentol hosted a meeting to air the issues and find a solution. Now, Lentol is asking DOT for a two-way protected bike lane on the bridge.