A community board transportation committee meeting on Tuesday night will address a hot-button issue: how should the Upper West Side change its major avenues to make them safer?
The discussion is not specifically about bike lanes, but its likely to focus on them. Bike lane advocates are pushing for a new protected lane on Amsterdam Avenue like the one on Columbus. The question of whether to add a lane on Amsterdam is controversial: we’ve heard very strong opinions on both sides of the issue, and it split the City Council candidates who we polled a few weeks ago. While several supported new lanes on the UWS, they were not unanimous on whether Amsterdam is the right spot.
Bicycling advocates have been very well-organized when it comes to attending these kinds of meetings and asking for changes. Opponents of the lanes often don’t show up, although we tend to hear from them in comments on our articles, in emails, and on the street. Bike lane policy tends to be set at the Community Board level now, so meetings like this are particularly important.
There were also be talk about potential changes to the streets around 96th street, which is particularly dangerous for pedestrians. Consultants have been studying the area to determine how to make the streets around there safer. You can suggest changes to the area here.
The meeting will be held at Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Avenue (88th Street) at 6:30 p.m.
Here is the full agenda:
1. Request for a secondary street naming of the northeast corner of West 77th Street and West End Avenue in honor of Miles Davis, who lived at 312 West 77th Street.
2. Request for a secondary street naming of the northeast corner of West 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in honor of Ariel Russo, who lived on the Upper West Side.
3. Continuing discussion of potential changes for CD7’s major north-south corridors (Amsterdam, Broadway, Central Park West, West End Avenue, Riverside Drive) to functionally improve the movement of people in and around our neighborhood and city while creating safer, more pleasant, transportation corridors for all.
4. Discussion of Nelson Nygaard’s, transportation planning consultants, preliminary recommendations of their pedestrian safety study of West 95th-97th Streets, Central Park to Riverside Park, conducted for MCB7 and funded by Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito, Gale Brewer, and Inez Dickens.
With all the money spent on creating bike lanes, there are still bikers going the opposite direction of traffic AND riding outside of the bike lanes! This adds to pedestrian danger.
I saw something on Amsterdam last week that I hope to never see again, – a young woman in the 18-24 yr old range riding one of those scooters, of the design type little kids ride, going against traffic in the far left lane.
It is my impression that many, many cyclists violate all traffic and pedestrian crossing rules, despite having been given more lane space. Therefore, I would oppose more space on Amsterdam Avenue until such time as the City can guarantee that cyclists obey the law.
Every driver on the avenue is violating the speed limit, and I’m sure you’ve crossed against the light too, so cast the first stone…. The reason these lanes are a good thing is that narrowing the overly broad and disorderly avenues makes drivers slow down and practice more lane discipline, and makes the road effectively shorter for pedestrians to cross. It has very little to do with the needs of bikers. Go down and check out 1st and 2d aves in the E Village and tell me the separated lanes aren’t a vast improvement for all users.
I hope that you also “oppose more space on Amsterdam Avenue” for MOTOR VEHICLES, “until such time as the city can guarantee that” they stop killing 200-300 New Yorkers annually, “despite having been given more lane space” for the last century.
Cyclist behavior, bad as it often is, has developed in response to a century of car culture and in response to rules that do not take into account the needs of either pedestrians or cyclists. Cyclist behavior will change over time, but only with street infrastructure that takes into account the presence of cyclists and pedestrians on the streets. That is “Complete Street” infrastructure, which is made up of (among other things) protected bicycle lanes and the pedestrian safety islands that automatically come with it.
In the meantime, as annoying (and even frightening) as that “bad bicycle behavior” can sometimes be, it NEVER creates ANYWHERE NEAR the MAYHEM that MOTOR VEHICLES create even when obeying the rules.
Agree!
In addition, there needs to be enforcement of the NYC ordinance PROHIBITING ANYONE OVER THE AGE OF 12 FROM RIDING A BICYCLE ON THE SIDEWALK!!!
And it is NOT restaurant delivery people. It is 30-somethings on super-fancy bikes displaying their usual “it’s-all-about-me-me-me” arrogance and knowingly flouting the law!
Why do they need bike lanes if they’re riding on the sidewalks? If they persist, maybe we should eliminate the bike lanes!
Because of a prior commitment this commenter cannot attend tonight’s meeting, but could someone please mention this?
The problem is twofold; one, pedestrians. I watch people all the time who don’t understand how to cross a street. If you don’t have the light, and a car is coming towards you, it’s not the time to walk! Yet time and again that is just what people do. Even worse are the people who push their baby strollers off the curb before lifting their eyes from their phones to see that not only don’t they have the right of way but that a car is two feet from their kid.
Two, the bike lane on Columbus is terrible for pedestrians because the bikers refuse to follow the rules and stop at a red light. I’ve almost been hit several times when I have the light and a biker doesn’t even attempt to slow down when they should have stopped at the opposite corner.
What we need is a better signage and maybe police out there yelling at people who don’t understand how to cross a street.
In my observation, it is mostly delivery riders riding on sidewalks. I have seen a few non delivery riders, but 99% are delivery riders. I agree with Mary about riders going the wrong direction. Riders going up Columbus might be going the wrong direction because there is no protected north-bound lane on the west side. I ride the CPW lane all the time – it is part of my commute – and am constantly being pushed into traffic by cars blocking the lane.
Additionally, it is my observation that most riders, going in the correct direction on the Columbus bike lane, do follow traffic regulations. I have seen many riders yield at lights rather than fully stopping, but in my experience riding the bike lanes, the real safety issue is pedestrians stepping into them without looking.
But something has got to be done about the “super-fancy bikers” and non, who flout crosswalk rules, especially in CP and on the West Side bike path. And getting them to stop at traffic lights is not the issue – the issue is obeying right of way and crosswalk rules.
And I am an avid biker.
crossing 96th st. at Amsterdam Ave is extremely dangerous – cars turning onto 96th st. do so at breakneck speed and with complete disregard for pedestrians. I don’t know what a good solution might be, but I hope someone else does. a bike lane on Amsterdam sounds worrisome, mostly due to reducing traffic lanes on an avenue that is always backed up, causing horns to honk and trucks to idle. also, it’s a fire lane, and they can barely get through the existing traffic when necessary. if it were up to me i’d close the avenue to all but bikes and buses, just to get some peace and quiet…
I hope to be able to make this meeting tonight, Tuesday, but may not be able to.
if any of the readers here go, pleaes OPPOSE a bike lane on Amsterdam.
My main concern is traffic congestion. I live just off of Amsterdam and clearly it is a major truck and bus route. The amount of slower traffic, and increased emissions caused by a bike line would be really detrimental. In addition, the noise factor caused by such stalled traffic would be a further deterioration to quality of life.
So, while cruising around on a bike is fun, let’s also consider the people who reside along these avenues and what this means to them.
Bike advocates: we all know that no matter how many bikers you have, the amount of traffic will never really subside, and never replace a truck or a bus.
I am a senior citizen who lives on Amsterdam Avenue and disagrees with Mary (comment 1) and Elisa (comment 7). Yes, Amsterdam Avenue is a truck and bus route but to claim heavy traffic there is a gross exaggeration. Most of the time, the avenue is a four lane speedway with rarely a backup other than at the 71st/72nd Street intersection. If a protected bike lane means cars and trucks slow down a little, give it to us quickly. The point to point speed of traffic flow on Columbus Avenue has actually increased slightly since the bike lane was added, but now – go figure – vehicular speed between lights is slightly slower.
Getting across Amsterdam while the light is still green can be a challenge for older residents and young children. When there’s a base to wait on between the bike and traffic lanes, my journey to the opposite sidewalk is shorter and therefore safer. As for cyclists riding the wrong way on the Columbus Avenue bike path, how terrible is that, really? First of all, what can you expect when there’s no northbound bike path for them on Amsterdam? But even so, is it so hard for us to look both ways before we step into a bike lane? As long as we want our take-out food deliveries in four minutes or less, the delivery cyclists have an incentive to take the shortest, fastest routes. At least the bike lane on Columbus channels them so we know where to look. Not so on Amsterdam where I’m a slow moving target on four full lanes as I jay-walk across the avenue at night.
I’ve noticed that the more careful cyclists riding CitiBikes or their own bikes in downtown bike lanes are much more likely to stop at lights and stay out of crosswalks than their more conspicuous daredevil cousins. Might it be that cyclists will follow the lead of the more sensible and cautious masses? Peer pressure, anyone? Bikes have become a popular transit link in this city and that’s an established fact. Let’s get used to it and support whatever changes will make our streets safer for bikers and pedestrians. New things can be scarey at first and take some getting used to – like elevators, airplanes, the jitterbug and computers. Before long, I hope you’ll see me pedaling slowly up Amsterdam Avenue on a shiny new tricycle. Stick your umbrella through my spokes if I forget to stop at the light.
well said!
You’re worried about being killed by a car that’s moving SLOWER? Because that’s the real benefit of these lanes.
A lot of money was spent on these bike lanes & I can’t understand why. With bikers going in both directions on Columbus, and on the West Side of the Street as well, and the sidewalks, it’s just more money wasted. Nobody follows laws nor are laws enforced. Maybe all people on bikes should be licensed.
I agree with Mary and Barbara B. By the way, how much did it cost the taxpayers to install the bike lanes on Columbus Avenue? Nobody seems to want to publicize an amount.
That is a fallacy. I’m not sure where it came from, but it is not true that bike lanes are expensive. In fact, they SAVE the city a significant amoutn of money due to reduced traffic crashes for all steet users. Check out this comprehensive article from New York Magazine:https://nymag.com/news/features/bike-wars-2011-3/, page 4. I’m sure there’s also city data that specifically outlines the cost and savings
If you feel strongly about the issues come to the meeting. A number of years ago there was a discussion to close parking facilities on 108th street. The community turned out in large numbers to voice its opinion and kept badly needed parking in the area. The use of the streets and public resources should be important to the readers of this blog. The community board installed by Gale Brewer and Scott Stringer should be told what is needed in the community. More off street parking and better traffic enforcement is needed. We also need more mass transit improvements and bike lanes are not mass transit.
As this planning goes forward, someone in power should take a look at Columbus Avenue from 65th up to 86th in the morning. With the bike lane in place and the parking one lane out, when there are delivery trucks, they have to park one more lane out – and that’s on the left side of the street. If there’s a truck also on the right side (like UPS), that’s another lane gone…resulting in two downtown lanes and congestion with a capital C. Amsterdam Avenue, northbound from 72nd is already jammed virtually all the way up to 97th. I don’t know the answer to all this (maybe the bike lanes should be two way – there’s enough width), but it seems to me the longer cars, trucks and busses are stuck in traffic, the bigger our carbon footprint – which is not a good thing. And I agree with the readers who complain about the behavior of bicycle riders. I was behind a SUV down on Columbus who wanted to make a left turn. The light went against him as he was entering the intersection (slowed by pedestrians) and he came to a stop, just a little inside the bike lane. So what does he get? A slap on the hood of his car and and epithet from a bike rider as he goes through the intersection – against the light.
I’d like to know why and how these metal benches popped up on the UWS, the one on 95th st. across for the Thalia Bar is a haven for the homeless leaving their garbage and other debris and now we are faced with a rat problem which is all too familiar on the UWS. The Thalia Bar does not keep the area clean nor does Symphony Space. Wassup with this? Thanks.
Someone needs to do something about the pedestrians crossing 96th street on the northbound side of Broadway. They seem to incapable of heeding the don’t walk signal when cars turning onto 96th street have the arrow and the right-of-way. It’s amazing to me how the pedestrians then cop an attitude if the cars that have the right of way honk or otherwise try to make it through the intersection.
I think we can all agree the ability to safely move from place to place by bike in Manhattan is a very good thing. But…
Until the police are required to enforce no parking / no double-parking / no standing rules (especially during the morning and evening rush) more bike lanes will mean more traffic jams, slower moving traffic and more air pollution from vehicles locked in traffic
Columbus Ave which used to be a well-moving thoroughfare is now – post-bike lanes – a traffic nightmare in the morning – not because of the bike lanes per se – but because all the illegally parked cars and trucks narrow Columbus, at times, to a single passable lane. (btw – double / disorganized / inconsiderate police parking around the 20th Precinct at W82 St is a major contributor to the Columbus AM mess.)
10th Avenue is the last uptown thoroughfare that still moves most of the time. They need to make sure that if bike lanes are installed there that there is also diligence in keeping the remaining lanes open for moving vehicular traffic.
take all the police who are assigned to “stop & frisk” and put
them on the bike lane corners to stop and issue tickets to
to all bike traffic offenders. After a few months and
a hundred thousand dollars in fines the bike lanes will be
safer for pedestrians and the city will have a little more
money.
Well, at least until all the people who will then have guns have taken all the bicycles away from their owners, anyway. Then those bike-lane revenues will probably drop (and the former bike owners will be complaining about all the rampant crime once again plaguing the City).
why is it so hard for some to imagine effective policing w/o massive racial profiling? crime went way down under Dinkins (once the new police were brought in) and Giuliani and we didn’t have the massive “stop and frisk” we have today.
I’m both a car owner and a cyclist on the UWS. This summer I was on my bike, and hit by a tourist opening up the wrong door (roadside door) of his taxi while I was biking up Madison Ave. It’s a miracle I wasn’t killed. I’m in favor of bike lanes in general; and would welcome them on Amsterdam Avenue; however I don’t think they have been created in the best fashion, and there are many kinks that need to be worked out with them. One problem with these lanes is that PEDESTRIANS use them, workers pull gear in them, etc. That is not what they are designed for and create hazards for cyclists. An easy way to fix this is to create fence-like barriers on the sidewalk so pedestrians can’t just step into the lanes. Koch did it right years ago when he put up the concrete barriers to separate the bike lanes on 6th Ave.
If you build them, people will use them. And when Citibikes arrive up on the UWS, use will dramatically increase.
It’s interesting to me that the bikers become the lighting rod for everyone’s bad behavior. Yes, bikers disobey the signs and lights, but so do pedestrians and drivers. The responsibility isn’t upon one group, it’s upon us all.
I’m afraid that this is a larger cultural issue of disrespect of others and the rules that are meant to protect us. When living in Berlin for four months, I was amazing that cars would yield to a turning bike and equally amazed when jay-walkers were reprimanded by the police.
If we are to ask the police to ticket bikers, then we should also ask them to ticket pedestrians and for more enforcement of drivers. The only way that we’ll all co-exist here is if we obey the rules and respect others right of way.
I commute to work from West 87th to Chinatown five days a week, I drive in Manhattan/Queens/Brooklyn several times a month, and I walk in Manhattan daily. I’ve faced dangerous situations in every scenario. For example, I was almost hit and killed one morning crossing Broadway with a walk light when an undercover cop was driving a cab.
The main issues that I notice are: 1) Pedestrians not respecting bike lanes and generally not being alert about where they are walking. This is an issue on the Hudson River Path where dog-walkers, joggers, tourists, and pedestrians walk down the middle of the path instead of on the designated pedestrian area. It’s even worse up Eighth Avenue near Port Authority where people literally walk against bike traffic without moving. But it’s also an issue on every corner when pedestrians step in front of moving cars and bikes; 2) Bikers wearing headphones or earbuds. These people hear no warnings and it almost causes accidents daily; 3) Cabs being aggressive with bikers in designated areas for no reason; 4) Delivery trucks, cabs, cars, police blocking bike lanes. This causes a chain reaction of dangerous scenarios.
Great post. I’ve just started using Zipcar, and driving around the neighborhood this weekend I was appalled at how inconsiderate EVERYONE was when it came to crossing, turning, yielding, etc.
Regardless of mode of transportation, whether they had kids or pets with them, or any other classification, it was like a competition to see who could pass through a given patch of street first, irrespective of lights, laws, common courtesy, or safety.
As a pedestrian, it is obvious that everyone is rushing and aggressive, but you don’t really see how bad it is until you are driving a car and try to turn left off of Broadway. Would it kill us to take turns and wave someone else through now and then?
This is by far the most sensible comment on this thread. Thank you.
the bikes do not stop at lights.
Neither do the cars, periodically. And neither do pedestrians, often.
So then…
Cars don’t obey the rules, let’s get rid of the roads!
Pedestrians don’t obey the rules, let’s get rid of the sidewalks!
I am a bicyclist. I stop at lights. I bike polite. I have lived on the UWS for 62 years. Get over it, bicycle haters: the Columbus avenue redesign makes the street safer for EVERYONE and the data, not your rude and uninformed opinions prove it. In the first 100 days of CitiBike, 300,000 memberships were sold, and 3 million miles pedaled. Both Helen Rothethal, our next City Council person and Gale Brewer, our next BP have wisely pledged to bring CitiBike to the UWS. We need a SAFE infrastructure as well as improvement in EVERYONE’S behavior. Speeding cars kill more people every year than guns in NYC. Despite the bizarre beliefs by some opponents of bicycling, bicycles are not killing people. Cars are. Sorry, bike-haters, that’s just a fact, and not only are we not going away we are growing in number exponentially every year.
Using the argument that ‘no cyclists’ follow the rules to reason against implementing a protected bike lane is not rational. While there are people on bikes whose behavior is not respectful towards other road users, the same thing could be said of all other road users. If you use the ‘bad behavior’ argument, then by proxy we should take away all the sidewalks and motor vehicle travel lanes too, since all parties are guilty. Bad design begets ‘bad’ behavior. Implementing a protected bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue (along with other complete street treatments) will help to calm traffic,. Speeding will be significantly reduced, but travel times will remain almost the same or better. Pedestrian islands and count down clocks will make it safer for the elderly, those with mobility issues and children to cross the road. A protected bike lane gives cyclists a safe space to travel from A to B without the worry that they might get seriously injured or killed by someone driving a motor vehicle. A protected bike lane also makes the sidewalks safer for pedestrians. Not only does it reduced the number of cyclists riding on the sidewalk, it also provides another barrier from reckless speeding drivers whose actions might cause them to jump the curb and main or kill an innocent bystander. 4 year old Ariel Russo’s life might not have been tragically ended had there been a complete street with a protected bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue. A protected bike lane will also create better order to the street- with each modality given their own space, we eliminate conflict. Right now, there is no dedicated safe space for people on bikes on Amsterdam Avenue. Without a protected bike lane- cyclists aren’t going to disappear, but they will continue to take measures that make them feel the safest. I’m not saying that those actions should always be condoned, but this is the reality we face. Over time, pedestrians will learn to look before they step into a protected lane, just as we have learned to look for cars before crossing a street.
Protected bike lanes encourage the safest and more timid riders to start choosing bikes for transportation. As more people on bikes fill the bike lanes, peer pressure by calmer riders will start to regulate behavior. Protected bike lanes also make it easier for people on mobility scooters to get around (yes, this is the one form of ‘motorized’ transportation that is sanctioned to use the protected lanes). Curb cuts on many sidewalks make it difficult for this population to navigate our city- by using the protected lanes they avoid this difficulty. Change is not easy (and at times can be scary) for many people, but in time people adapt. A Complete Street treatment for Amsterdam Avenue will benefit everyone. Complete Streets make it safer for all street users, they help ease congestion, they increase retail revenues and increase property values. This had been proven with data and statistics not just here in NYC, but in world-class cities everywhere. NYC needs more Complete Streets.
I would suggest that empirical observation and close examination of data is a far better way of making sense of wide trends (such as injury rates, and what has and has not been effective in lowering them) than relying on the “gut”.
You may have seen a cyclist acting badly. But safer street redesigns that have infrastructure to accommodate safer cycling also lower injuries and fatalities for pedestrians. This is proven. This is true.
If your “gut” says otherwise, it is –in this case at least– incorrect.
I don’t know what it is about bikes that gets everyone so riled up, but can we re-focus on the purpose of street redesigns (which happen to include protected bike lanes)? Thousands of our fellow New Yorkers sustain life changing injuries from vehicle collisions every year and hundreds more die. This should be an outrage. And instead, people fixate on how some cyclists don’t follow the rules. Seriously, what is more important to our society? Street redesigns make streets safer and drastically reduce deaths and life changing injuries for EVERYONE. It is the most effective solution we have. So, can we all calm down and think about this holistically? Surely, saving lives and livelihoods, and sparing families the suffering that accompanies these collisions is a worthwhile endeavor. Amsterdam Avenue is by far the most dangerous avenue on the UWS. Please use common sense and support the Amsterdam Avenue street redesign!
A few other comments:
– I agree that there’s bad behavior all around and there should be better enforcement, but that is not going to be accomplished by resisting bike lanes. Quite the opposite. I am lucky enough to live the in West Village where we have good bike infrastructure and behavior is much better.
– Protected bike lanes actually IMPROVE access for emergency vehicles. I will never forget being in midtown during typical morning gridlock, sickened to see a fire truck stuck in traffic, with drivers having nowhere to pull over, and all of a sudden the fire truck went into the bike lane and was on it’s way! Turns out protected bike lanes are designed to allow enough room, even for fire trucks, which is a huge benefit in my opinion.
– Citibike has changed the West Village for the better. All street users seem to be more polite and considerate now. And they are good for the neighborhood and good for business. I can’t tell you how many Citibike ‘dates’ I see riding around together on a night out. It’s a sweet and refreshing site to see. So, UWS, do yourself a favor and prepare yourself for Citibike by putting in a protected north-bound bike lane now and welcome the change!
complete and livable streets for all has resulted in a very ‘civilized’ look to many avenues in the city. city studies have shown a marked DECREASE in accidents [mostly pedestrian] while traffic moves as well or better than before [yes,emergency vehicles are in that flow].
With less open ‘wild west’ space on Amsterdam ‘highway’, cars would not weave around to fill open spots and thus drive with more sanity and concentration on the road ahead. cars are reminded that they are sharing the streets with the whole community.
pedestrian islands have proven to be a great safety improvement [wholly endorsed country wide [as part of complete streets] by AARP.
Many hundreds of local businesses in the UWS have signed on, approving these complete streets, knowing they have increased business after installation.
as a biker, i wish to eliminate biking on sidewalks and riding in the wrong direction [both against the law, as is riding in the car lanes when a bike lane has been created]. we know this will diminish or stop as more bikes are on the road [inevitable and wonderful] with the majority setting the example for the few that dont ‘bike polite’.
i wont ask to close the west side highway because of the nuts who speed and weave [no signal] and scare the hell out of me, as do bikers doing wrong on the streets of my city.
i would gladly be part of a bike lane committee correcting those doing wrong and letting them know of alternative action in proceeding. i would love to tell wrong wayers on Columbus, where i live, about a new protected bike lane on Amsterdam. its win -win -win, so dont fear it.
A friendly reminder folks:
Here is a summary of the principal requirements for bicyclists under New York law:
Bicyclists must ride with traffic and thus travel in the same direction as motor vehicles.
Bicyclists may travel side-by-side on the road, but must ride in single-file when other vehicles need to pass.
Every person riding a bicycle or skating or gliding on in-line skates upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle .
If there is a bicycle lane in the roadway, the bicyclist must use it except to avoid a hazard or to turn left. If there is a separate parallel path, the bicyclist may use either the path or roadway.
Bicyclists must signal to turn on a roadway, a bike lane or bike path.
Bicycling is not allowed on interstate highways and expressways. Local jurisdictions can prohibit bicycles elsewhere, for example parkways or sidewalks.
Helmets must be worn by those under 14 years old. Localities may have additional requirements for those over 14.
Bicycles must be properly equipped with workable brakes, a bell or horn, reflectors and, if driven at night, a headlight and taillight.
A bicyclist cannot wear more than one earphone when listening to a radio or other audio device.
A bicyclist may not grab onto or otherwise attach to a moving motor vehicle.
A bicycle cannot carry more people than the number it was designed to carry. The law also calls for motorists to exercise “due care” to avoid collision with bicyclists. Bicycle accidents involving death or serious injury have to be reported within ten days.
I agree with this, both are equally dangerous to me as a fellow biker as they are to a pedestrian.
“as a biker, i wish to eliminate biking on sidewalks and riding in the wrong direction [both against the law, as is riding in the car lanes when a bike lane has been created]”
Before we accommodate more bikes on the roads, bike riders need to follow traffic rules – no running red lights, riding on sidewalks, screaming at pedestrians, hitting pedestrians, and in general being a total safety hazard on the road.
I live at 25 CPW, for the past 25 years. 2 years ago I became handicapped and now use a wheelchair. I decided to get a mobility scooter. The pavement of the streets is awful and dangerous for wheelchair users and would like to do my bit to help improve this situation.