Rendering of dedicated bike lane from Brooklyn
Nov. 4, 2014 By Christian Murray
The construction of the two-way protected bike lane spanning the Pulaski Bridge is expected to be completed by spring, according to the Department of Transportation.
At a City Council Transportation Committee meeting yesterday, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer asked DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg when the delayed bike lane would be completed.
Van Bramer was told that it should be ready by spring 2015 since the project’s contractor was recently approved by the DOT and a construction timeline will soon be released.
The dedicated bike lanes, which were expected to be completed in 2014, will bring an end to the tense relationships between cyclists and pedestrians who currently share a lane.
The change will result in a two-way protected bike lane that will span the bridge for cyclists. Meanwhile, an existing 8 ½ foot wide lane—that is currently used by both cyclists and pedestrians—will be for the exclusive use of pedestrians.
The decision to add the lane comes after years of friction between cyclists and pedestrians.
In 2009, when the community sought a solution to the problem of bike/pedestrian congestion, the DOT added markings and signage to help organize traffic and increase safety on the bridge.
“Since then, the pedestrian volumes have increased almost 50% and the bicycle volumes have more than doubled, which is huge growth particular in the bicycle mode,” said Nick Carey, Project Manager at NYCDOT Bicycle Program, earlier this year.
However, the creation of the dedicated bike lane will bring some changes to Brooklyn-bound motorists.
The three lanes on the bridge going from Queens into Brooklyn will be cut to two, to make room for the dedicated bicycle lane.
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2 Comments
I want to see a change but this is not going to work for very long. 11th street already gets backed up with traffic. This is going to make a line from the 59th street bridge right across 11th street all the way to the BQE in Brooklyn during the evening rush.
For Citibike! Awesome, this is much needed.