Brooklyn Bridge Will Get a New and Separate Bike Lane in the Fall

Photo by Joshua Woroniecki from Pexels

In Brooklyn, New York, this past Monday, the city Department of Transportation had closed off the innermost westbound lane of the Brooklyn Bridge. You see, the plan is to convert the space into a two-way bike lane.

The construction of this new project started just this past Monday at 9:00 PM. It will likely wrap up by fall. When this lane opens back up, it will be very much brand new, and the only form of transportation allowed on this specific lane will be bikes only.

The other lanes will still have vehicles. The plan is to have a concrete barrier and metal fencing to separate the cyclist lanes and vehicle lanes.

According to Mayor Bill de Blasio:

"It will be a beautiful and radical reimaging of a New York City icon.”

It seems that the mayor wants to transform the roadway. It will be an 8-foot and two-way bike lane on only the inner westbound lane. Meanwhile, there will still be two 10-foot vehicle lanes. You can watch the video below to get more information:

According to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), they want to separate the vehicle drivers and cyclists to:

• Prevent further accidents between cyclists and vehicles
• Free up space on the overflowed bridge promenade
• Promote an environmentally friendly image
• Promote healthy lifestyle choices
• Promote future eco-tourism

To get cyclists to safely connect into this specific bike lane, the city has taken measures like wanting to install bike lanes on Center Street in Manhattan. They will still also install a bike lane in Brooklyn since the bridge access road runs parallel to Adams Street anyway.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Since the start of the pandemic, more and more New Yorkers have taken to riding their bike more often. Thus, it makes sense to create a separate bike lane, given there is an increased demand for it, especially from the locals. One can presume that bike sales may have even gone up too.

As TransAlt Executive Director Danny Harris reported back in January:

"Converting car lanes into bike lanes on two of our most important bridges is a giant leap forward for New York City. We look forward to working with the de Blasio administration on this vital new project and other efforts to improve infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians on bridges and streets across the five boroughs."

Of course, many local cyclists often avoid riding at the Brooklyn bridge since they don't want to get seriously injured in a collision. For example, back in 2020, a couple got engaged on the bridge, and a cyclist crashed into the wedding photographer.

You can watch that separate video below:

Meanwhile, the state Senator is Brian Kavanaugh. He represents the neighborhoods on both sides of the bridge. As he reportedly said:

“If you’ve tried to go across that path, you’ve seen pedestrians, New Yorkers and tourists, often looking up with the great skyline of New York; and bicycles trying to wind their way through that crowd.”

According to him, it's not an ideal situation to have pedestrians share the same space as the cyclists. An unknowing tourist, cyclist and/or resident may get injured, so it's best that cyclists have their own lane where they don't have to worry about bumping into people and vehicles.

Plus, vehicle drivers don't have to worry about harming cyclists either, which seems like a win-win.

For now, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of four East River crossings with bicycle access. According to Streetsblog, in 2019, there's been a whopping 27% spike in the number of people who are riding their bikes in this area. There are even more people who ride their bikes on the weekend.

As for the tourists, cyclists, and drivers of Brooklyn, New York, they deserve to know when the roads and lanes are under construction. In due time, everyone will be able to commute much easier than ever before. For now, we just have to wait and see.

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