Some advocates for bike lanes now want to disregard whatever the Upper West Side’s community board might have to say and have the city install bike lanes by the mayor’s executive fiat.
Bike lane advocates are frustrated that the community board has been slow to approve extension to the bike lanes and add lanes on Amsterdam Avenue.
“By voting against the Columbus Avenue bike lane, Community Board 7 blatantly ignored the wishes of the public,” said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “This bike lane would make the Upper West Side safer for everyone. That’s why support for this project is widespread. It’s time the City circumvented this backward thinking board and installed this lane and pedestrian improvements. The people have spoken and their community board continues to ignore them.”
The people have spoken?
As we reported, numerous people did come out to support bike lanes on Tuesday night. But to say that the community unequivocally supports the bike lanes the city has installed is ludicrous. There are more than 200,000 people on the Upper West Side! Maybe 100-150 came out to support the lanes on Tuesday.
We’ve heard from hundreds of Upper West Siders about this issue, at meetings, in discussions all over the neighborhood, and online. The community is still fiercely divided on the issue, and as far as we know there hasn’t been a single scientific poll that shows clear majority support for expanding protected lanes in the neighborhood (It was very simple to vote multiple times in the one Gale Brewer sent around, and there was no verification system to determine if people were actually from the neighborhood).
Even if people support the concept of bike lanes in general, they may not support the DOT’s implementation. That’s why we have these meetings.
Bike lane advocates have organized themselves well, and they make a strong case for the lanes at meetings. And the Community Board ain’t perfect, for sure. Some of the people on the board who object to the lanes may simply be misinformed, while some have strong arguments. They are appointed advisers, not legislators, but they play an important role in a city where power is now almost completely centralized. Most importantly for advocates: they can be convinced!
Instead of asking the mayor to bypass them, give them a call, set up a meeting, hear their concerns, and do what you can to win their vote. It could involve compromise, it could mean launching a campaign to insure bicyclist and pedestrian safety, it could entail changes in street design. But it will actually involve the larger community.
Robert Moses was famous for disregarding what local boards had to say, and just going ahead with his initial plans anyway. That resulted in numerous highways being built, often right through the middle of neighborhoods. He often had legal justification for doing this, even if it resulted in bad public policy. Why support that style of governing?
If the next mayor isn’t as keen on bike lanes, should he or she simply disregard what local boards say and go ahead with dismantling the lanes anyway? We presume bike advocates would object.
We have a bike path running the entire length of the UWS right on the Hudson River, what more do they want? We don’t need anymore bike lanes, they’re a nuisance.
You might not know about all of the years of outreach, education, and hard work that has gone into trying to make our community safer. To suggest that we haven’t reached out to meet with the members of the community board is really shortsighted. Of course we’ve tried. The chairs of the committee won’t even meet with us. They also won’t tell us what their vision is for a safer, more people-centered Upper West Side. And, BTW, there have been scientific polls on whether or not New Yorkers like bike lanes: 66% of New Yorkers like them.
True Lisa, you guys have done a lot of outreach. But we’ve also spoken with numerous well-meaning businesspeople who said they were blindsided by the Columbus lanes and didn’t hear back from the DOT about their concerns, and heard from a nearly endless stream of Upper West Siders who complain about bicyclists riding recklessly. And the fact that 66% of New Yorkers said they support “bike lanes” in general (I’ve read the text of the poll) says little about support for protected lanes or support on the UWS, in my opinion. It’s fair to assume that many people think of bike lanes as painted stripes on the ground.
I’m confident that protected bike lanes will be built on the full length of Columbus Avenue; bike advocates have never in the city’s history had the kind of political power they have now. Why bypass the public process? Avi
What do we want? We want streets that are SAFER for everyone — walkers, bicyclists, kids, and people in wheelchairs. We want to be able to shop by bike and park our bike at a bike rack near a store. We know from data collected at streets that have been redesigned like the 1-mile stretch of Columbus between 96th Street & 77th that these designs make streets safer for walkers and bicyclists of all ages — even kids. This design is a proven success and should now be extended. And DOT presented data at the meetings that because of the left-turn bays that are an integral part of the design, travel time for vehicles is even reduced by 50% on the Columbus mile. There was ample notice and outreach for this meeting over many weeks. Time after time the community has turned out to request that streets be redesigned like the one-mile stretch of Columbus. At this meeting, 150 turned out, and only 1 person was firmly opposed. This Community Board transportation committee is clearly not representative of the majority of residents who want safer, calmer streets with new plantings and beautification, and the chair and co-chairs continually block any plan that may benefit bicyclists. Eighth and 9th Avenues and Broadway have all been redesigned from Columbus Circle all the way downtown to be better for walkers and bicyclists with great success, and injury reduction. Yet all progress comes to a halt at the border of CB7 at 59th Street. It’s time to reverse this regressive thinking, and build these badly needed inexpensive improvements on the UWS. I have lived here for 62 years and waited long enough!
Any attempt to expand the already underutilized bicycle lanes is ludicrous. Case in point: Broadway, southbound at 56th Street. There is a dedicated left turn lane, complete with a bicycle stop/go traffic light. I drive this block every day at approximately 8:30 am and there has never been a bicycle to be seen…and I fully admit there may be at some times, but we are talking volume – which is what city driving is all about. Further, now that the weather has turned, the number of bikes has noticeably diminished…which is perfectly understandable – who wants to freeze their kischkees off going to work? And as far as Linclon Center is concerned, this four way intersection is already a mess. Adding bike lanes will only make a bad situation worse. Bikes are fine. When I worked the graveyard shift at a NY radio station in the 1980’s, I used to take my bike to work – and riding home to the UWS at 6 in the morning was a wonderful experience, especially in the spring and summer. But in the winter, I took a cab.
The community board made a huge effort to publicize what was billed as a “hearing” on the bike lane. Flyers were put up all over the neighborhood. In this case, the “community” should be represented not by an unelected community board whose members are essentially appointed for life, but by those who care enough about an issue to come out on a chilly weeknight evening and spend three hours sitting in a basement room. These are the same people who care enough to stand in line for hours to vote. Who cared enough on this night? Overwhelmingly it was folks who want safer streets for everyone. Those clinging desperately to the status quo appropriation of our streets by cars and only cars were barely in evidence.
Isn’t the community board doing exactly what you’re criticizing? Five people ignored the wishes of over 150 people this week. There’s huge public support for bike lanes in general and this proposal specifically. Dan aweigh does not want bike lanes. Period. He is the one bypassing the public process.
Cyclists have become arrogant and reckless. Pedestrians seem to be viewed by cyclists as targets or at best less than acceptable humans who can be knocked down at will. I love cycling. It is fun and clean but when cyclists turn mean it is time to reconsider the privileges that have been extended to them at the expense of pedestrians.
I agree that the current use of the bicycle lanes may not seem to warrent an extension but wouldn’t you agree that a lane that starts and ends without connection to other lanes non useful? Please remember that bike lanes in this city are relatively new and though a lot of headway has been made to make the city “bike friendly” there are still improvements and hardships ahead. I unfortunately have to drive for work and I would love it if there were less cars on the roads and taking up parking spots. Please do not judge all bicyclist by delivery riders that use poor judgement and thier lack of following the law.
I am not talking about messengers. I am talking about private cyclists who speed by like they are in the Tour De France making waking in the park or the Hudson almost a death wish excursion. Cyclists have no more right to be in the Park that the rest of us. In fact, in some paces they are supposed to be walking their bikes but they don’t.
No more privileges for cyclists until they return to the human race and recognize that the rest of us matter.
CB7 is not opposed to the extension of the bike lanes. But in a community of over two hundred thousand, we must serve the entire population. When the first leg of the bike were installed, (which we voted to approve), we had many angry merchants to contend with. In all fairness, DOT did work with us in making revisions to accommodate them. Having learned from this, we are striving to deal with their issues before the lanes are installed.
Of major concern to us is the amount of parking spaces which DOT claims are necessary to install the lanes. They have informed us that there will at least 61 spaces removed in this endeavor. Many of us are concerned about the impact on the merchants, especially on weekends which are the busiest days for vehicles driving into our neighborhood. We were told that 55 spaces would be removed in the first leg. This number ended up being 72 spaces lost. We have concerns about the “61” number increasing as well.
While the DOT presentation was educational, there were a number of questions they did not answer, and we will have a follow-up meeting with them for more clarification. We are especially concerned about their plans for the Lincoln Center area, which they have admitted to not knowing how this will be handled.
As far as the fact that the Columbus Ave. Bid is 100% occupied, many of these businesses are “hand to mouth” and face daily struggles to survive. They are vulnerable to inclement weather, rising rents, rising food costs in the case of restaurants and other factors, the loss of income which cannot be recovered.
Times change. If the merchants can’t keep up with it, then they deserve to go out of business. It’s like saying we shouldn’t sell computers because all of the typewriter merchants will go out of business. Protected bike lines are a vital part of the safe, eco-friendly progress of a neighborhood. Again, if you can’t cope, then GO OUT OF BUSINESS. There’s plenty of other “merchants” dying to take their spot. Most of the “merchants” on the UWS don’t even live in the neighborhood. They make their money and go back to their Cul-de-sac in Westchester. ENOUGH ALREADY!
Suggesting that because there is some bad bike behavior there should be no safe accommodations for responsible bicyclists, is like saying that because there is illegal double parking there should be no accommodations for any other car parking. Or maybe we should ban all cars because there is dangerous speeding by some cars?
Yesterday’s mass killing was horrifying and sorrowful. On that same morning I came upon the aftermath of a crash at 102nd St, where a woman crossing CPW was hit by an SUV and killed. More horror, more sorrow. I know it too well. I lost my husband, hit by a truck as we rode our bikes six years ago. What our community lost on Tuesday night at the hands of a vision-less transportation committee could have been the beginning of the end of the daily carnage on our streets. Safe street infrastructure is ours for the asking from DOT, but CB7 prefers the status quo of heartbreak despite the outpouring of community support for change.
Hate the bike lanes. Not the least because cyclists don’t even use them.