The city installed the six-foot-wide concrete median along three blocks of South St. — decorated with 124 colorful wooden cutouts — to protect cyclists and beautify the neighborhood.
BY COLIN MIXSON
The city’s transit department installed a concrete median between car and bike traffic along three blocks of South St. last month, in a move that will keep bikers safe, albeit at the expense of traffic, according to one local.
“Bikers will definitely like it,” said Jose Peralta, a 40-year Two Bridges Housing resident, “but it slows down traffic.”
The city installed the six-foot-wide concrete median along the stretch of waterfront between Rutgers and Montgomery Sts. in response to community safety concerns, according to Department of Transportation press release.
Before the median was installed, drivers took advantage of the unprotected, two-way bike lane to swerve around traffic and double park, posing serious hazards to cyclists, Peralta said.
“I did notice that a lot of cars would take advantage of the bike lane. They go into the bike lane to cut across traffic, or double park there for whatever reason and block that lane,” he said. “The median’s not good for drivers, obviously, but I think it’s actually safer now.”
Additional safety measures were included as part of the project, including signals and crosswalks at Clinton and South Sts., along with street repaving, which left bike and pedestrian paths at different height grades along the half-mile stretch of South St.
Beyond safety, the city took steps to spruce up its new median with some temporary public art, featuring 124 colorful, abstract, wooden cutouts bolted onto traffic signposts.
The new art, which was designed by Chat Travieso and Samuel Holleran, was selected in large part because the artists involved the community in its creation, according to Wendy Feuer, the DOT’s assistant commissioner of urban design, art, and wayfinding.
“This project exemplifies the result of collaboration among DOT units with input from our elected officials and partnership with a neighborhood non-profit,” said Feuer. “In addition to the much needed safety improvements, this DOT art project further enhances and activates the South St. corridor with a community-based art intervention.”
