A new protected bike lane will be coming to Bedford Avenue, between Dean Street and Flushing Avenue, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the transportation department said on Tuesday.
Stretching more than 10 miles from Sheepshead Bay to Williamsburg, Bedford Avenue is the borough’s longest street. And the new 1.5-mile bike lane is just one of several that the city will install across the five boroughs to beef up protection for bikers. New pedestrian islands and loading zones, aimed at making the street safer for those traveling on foot, will also come to the area.
“This is a critical step towards creating an actual safe cycling network in Bed-Stuy, where there are zero protected bike lanes, and it’s about all road users because protected bike lanes make the road safer for everyone: pedestrians, cyclists and drivers,” said Kathy Park Price, a Brooklyn organizer with Transportation Alternatives, which has been advocating for more protected bike lanes for years.
The protected bike will be the first in the area, replacing a traditional, painted bike lane that Park Price said “is effectively useless because it is chronically parked in by drivers, delivery trucks, the UPS, FedEx and so it’s really dangerous for everyone and it has effectively not been a functioning bike lane.”
A construction crew will begin milling between Dean Street and Lafayette Avenue this week, the transportation department announced. The streets will be milled for two to three weeks before being paved – and the entire redesign is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Frederique Uster, a volunteer for Families for Safe Streets who also resides near the area, said she was “really happy” to hear the news about the new bike lane.
“I used to bike down almost every day for a time to go to work in Manhattan and it’s always been really eerie and I think one of the more dangerous spots of my ride,” Uster said.
Brooklyn-based City Councilmember Chi Osse, who represents the area where the new protected bike lane will be installed, called the move a “public policy decision with only winners.”
“The entire neighborhood and all who make use of the avenue will benefit. Cyclists will, at last, be free to move through the corridor without fear,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
The new Bedford Avenue bike lane stops short of extending into South Williamsburg, where Orthodox Jewish leaders have rallied against installing new bike infrastructure for years.
Isaac Abraham, president of the Federation of Tenants Council of Williamsburg, said he – and others – aren’t happy about the bike lane attracting more bikers near the area.
“These bike lanes have been imposed – and thrown – at us,” he said, adding that “nobody has asked anybody about their feelings or if it’s the right place.”
The transportation department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But in a press release, the department said protected bike lanes have contributed to a 15% decline in crashes with injuries and a 21% drop in injuries overall after similar redesigns.