Three Brooklyn Council Members Urge DOT to Close Bike Lane Gaps
You know that feeling when you’re biking along all safe and sound in a protected bike lane – and then suddenly, the protection ends, usually at the most-dangerous clusterfuck of an intersection?
Well, three Council members from Brooklyn know the feeling and want the Department of Transportation to do something about it.
Council members Shahana Hanif (D-Park Slope), Crystal Hudson (D-Fort Greene) and Lincoln Restler (D-Downtown) penned a missive to DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn last week to address “short but critical gaps in the protected bike lane network” to connect seamlessly into the broader network.
The trio praised Flynn for his commitment to soon adding protections to the southernmost block of Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn – which would close a huge gap that has existed ever since the Adams administration traded safety for backroom deals with special interests.
But once that one-block gap is filled, Brooklyn still needs three very short gaps closed:
– Schermerhorn Street between Third and Flatbush avenues. – Lafayette Avenue from Flatbush to Ashland Place. – Fourth Avenue between Dean Street and Flatbush.
Here’s how the area looks on a map:
We asked DOT for a timeline on these short projects, and spokesman Scott Gastel said, “Implementation season is just recently underway, and we will have more details to share in the coming weeks and months.”
In a related story, however, all three Council members are likely to cheer today at 10 a.m. when the DOT has a ceremonial groundbreaking for its largely hailed plan for protected, center-running bus lanes on Flatbush Avenue. I’ll be there, anchoring the full-team coverage.
In other news:
– Speaking of dangerous places, sign the petition to make Ocean Avenue safer. – And speaking of Restler, he and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher are focusing attention on planned work that will shutter the G train on all weekends in June and December, plus other weekends in between. Gallagher called it “unacceptable,” while Restler called for discounts on Citi Bike. Restler will have a presser today at noon with Borough President Antonio Reynoso at the Nassau Avenue G station near where the Bedford Avenue slip lane hits Nassau. – The City looked at the MTA’s anger over “billboard lawyers” whose billboards cover the subways and buses. – Mayor Mamdani unveiled some World Cup viewing parties at various stadia, but he dodged our question about the smaller open streets events that he’s apparently canceled. He did say there’s more to come, so we won’t reset the Mamdani-O-Meter just yet. – Look out, bus fare evaders. – The Post tried out the bus simulator. – Curtis Sliwa praised our story about the Staten Island cop with the camera tickets, saying he respected it for “going full Streetsblog.” – It’s time for Jost and Davidson to take this sinking ship and sink it. – Carnage in Borough Park. – So much for transparency at Amtrak’s Penn Station project. – Do you want to work on the Roosevelt Island tram? – Here come the quad-copters. – Paris is still leading the way in car-free travel. – Even when a driver is stopped at a light, he’s not safe from other drivers.
And, finally, I’ve risked my reputation for collegiality by condemning my fellow members of the news media for parking all over the Foley Square plaza where Lorenzo Pace’s monumental fountain sculpture, “Triumph of the Human Spirit,” rises in honor of the enslaved people who were traded and abused there hundreds of years ago. I have long complained to the Parks Department about the treatment of this sacred space. And the agency once said it agreed with me. But yesterday, McRib Hard Seltzer revealed the harsh truth on Twitter: Nobody cares but everybody cars.
