Bike lanes inspire love from cyclists, grousing from neighbors

Tuesday May 5, 2009 7:03 PM By Heather Haddon

Photo credit: Urbanite

A bicyclist makes her way east on the new Grand Street bike lanes in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan. (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Heather Haddon

The city has called a truce in the Williamsburg bike lane wars, but more turf battles could erupt as miles of new cycling paths surface around town this year.

The Department of Transportation's push to paint 200 miles of bike paths by the end of 2009 has thrilled cyclists, but ruffled the feathers of some drivers, business owners and neighborhood groups.

And in such a dense city, every inch of road is sacred and parking spots are gold.

“The city has been so lawless about the bikers for so long, it's going to take some time to adjust,” said Peter Traub, 52, near a new bike lane on Grand Street yesterday.

The bike lanes have sparked protests in at least two neighborhoods, Williamsburg and Little Italy.The DOT intends on building another 33 miles of new bike lanes this year. It’s hard to predict which will cause controversy, as neighborhoods only feel the impact of lost road space once the paint dries.

But earlier this week, community leaders bristled when the DOT presented plans to ban cars from two exits in Prospect Park.

“They present it as a done deal,” said Jeremy Laufer, the district manager Community Board 7 in Windsor Terrace. “They spring it on the community rather than seeing what local concerns and needs are.”

Last fall, Williamsburg businesses and drivers flipped out when the city removed 340 parking spaces along Kent Avenue to make way for a 1.5-mile bike route.

The city created a “no standing” zone on both sides of the busy street that stripped 30 manufacturers of their loading docks. It also stoked tensions between biking hipsters and the Hasidim, many who drive.

“You can't uproot people because of a bike route,” said Simon Weisser, a community board member who represents the Hassidism. “How can you live in such a place where you can't stop your car?”

With resentment still smoldering, the DOT started shopping around a new bike lane design to community leaders last week. The proposal puts a buffer of parked cars between a two-way bike lane and cars moving in one direction up Kent Avenue, according to those who attended the meeting.

The design is common in Europe but a novelty in New York. The city recently installed one-lane buffered bike lanes on Grand Street and Ninth Avenue in Manhattan.

Injuries to cyclists plunged by 57 percent after the installation of the 9th Avenue pathway, according to DOT statistics. Pedestrian accidents dropped by nearly a third.

Bikers on Grand Street yesterday had mixed reactions to pedaling next to a fleet of parked cars. Some felt safer, while others feared getting “doored.”

“People open their doors without looking,” said Marlowe Hargrove, 30, a Brooklyn bike messenger. “Honestly, the lane makes no sense.”

Wiley Norvell, of the Transportation Alternatives advocacy group, said it will take time for bikers to adjust to the adjacent parking, but the design is meant to protect them.

DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow said the agency will consult with community groups in the coming weeks regarding its plans for Kent Avenue.

Andrew Breiner and Melinda Hsia contributed to this report

The city intends to install bike lanes along the following roads this year:

8th Avenue in Chelsea (.4 miles)

Adam Clayton Powell in Harlem (4 miles)

Avenue A in the East Village (1 mile)

West 10th and Christopher streets in the West Village (1 mile)

Streets surrounding Washington Square Park (.8 miles)

Prospect Park West (2 miles)

Grand and Driggs avenues in Williamsburg (4 miles)

34th Avenue in Astoria (4 miles)

28th and 29th Streets in Astoria (2 miles)

Grand Concourse in the Bronx (6 miles)

Tibbett Avenue in the Bronx (3 miles)

Avenues in Staten Island (5 miles)

Source: city Department of Transportation

Tags: bike lanes, williamsburg, hipsters, transit