Council member Helen Rosenthal sent a letter to the city Department of Transportation on Friday throwing her support behind a protected bicycle lane on Amsterdam Avenue from 59th to 110th street like the one on Columbus. The city said in late 2013 that it would study this idea and other ways to improve the street, following a vote by Community Board 7 approving the study.
“The avenue is wide with heavy commercial traffic, lined with many public and private schools, senior centers and the consequent pedestrian use. It is badly in need of safety measures and it is incumbent on the city to act quickly to ensure its residents’ safety. A protected bike lane, the shortening of the cross walk and clearly marked lanes create a street calming effect and go a long way towards ensuring safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.”
At meetings in 2013, some residents expressed concerns about the lanes, including seniors concerned about law-breaking cyclists. Business owners have also expressed mixed feelings about the lanes, which can make deliveries more tricky (though DOT has become better about mitigating this). But the majority of speakers at the meetings supported the lanes, which would give Upper West Siders a Northbound protected bike lane to match the Southbound one on Columbus. As Rosenthal notes, several bicyclists now use the Columbus Avenue lane to go North, which makes that lane dangerous.
Amsterdam Avenue, where long stretches of coordinated streetlights allow drivers to accelerate for several blocks without stopping, is one of the five most dangerous streets in Manhattan, according to one report. The photo above is on Amsterdam just South of 79th street.
The DOT tells us “we are reviewing possible safety enhancements along Amsterdam Avenue. We will work with the Council Member and the Community Board to discuss next steps.”
Rosenthal’s full letter is below. Take our poll on the Amsterdam lanes (first posted in 2012) at the bottom of this post.
Dear Commissioner Trottenberg,
I write to you to extend my support to convert Amsterdam Avenue within my district and beyond into a “safe street.” The avenue is wide with heavy commercial traffic, lined with many public and private schools, senior centers and the consequent pedestrian use. It is badly in need of safety measures and it is incumbent on the city to act quickly to ensure its residents’ safety. A protected bike lane, the shortening of the cross walk and clearly marked lanes create a street calming effect and go a long way towards ensuring safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.
The safety corridor on the UWS is incomplete without an uptown protected bike lane. It is a much needed addition to compliment the Columbus Avenue bike lane and in anticipation of the coming Citibike program which will add many bikes to our neighborhood streets. Currently, the Columbus Avenue bike lane is being used by both uptown and downtown riders creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians. This can be mitigated once an uptown bike lane is added to this portion of the West Side corridor creating an alternative pathway and enabling better enforcement of roadway rules. I plan on working closely with the 20th and 24th precinct as well as local restaurants to ensure these bike rules are strictly enforced.
Vision Zero policies within my district have already had a significant and positive impact and I want to thank you for the work that DOT has already done to make the UWS a safer place to walk, ride and drive. The safety benefits of street calming for Amsterdam Avenue would be an important step in achieving our mutual goal of Vision Zero.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to working with you and the community on this issue.
No meetings have been scheduled yet to review plans for Amsterdam, but we’ll let you now when they do.
[poll id=”7″]
Maybe there’s hope for her yet!
Will the Council Member also install a protected walk way for pedestrians? I love bikes. They are great but “some of us are walking here” and walking has become a hazardous proposition as cyclists zoom around as if the Tour De France was their goal and that anyone in their way is expendable. They ride or should I say race in the park, on sidewalks and on the street. They ignore lights and they ignore the humans who are walking not rolling.
The type of bicyclists the protected lanes attract are the cautious ones who would not bike otherwise. The mothers who want to tow their kids to school or bike to shop for groceries or do errands. Not the type of bike riders you describe in your comment.
Thank you for this comment. My thoughts exactly.
The walkway for pedestrians that you speak of is called the sidewalk.
Virtually no one except delivery men use the bike path on Columbus. It just causes congestion with people now basically triple parked
The sidewalk is not safe. Cyclists use that too when the opportunity presents itself. It would also be helpful for Pedestrians to know that cyclists will follow the traffic lights so that pedestrians could cross the streets.
Its NYC – the organic nature of people’s movement is part of what makes the city alive. Are you now going to tell all pedestrians they need to wait for the walk signal before crossing the street? Or to go all the way to corner to cross?
You can’t let a few unruly, inconsiderate cyclists cause an overreaction. I see way more issues with people pushing strollers blindly into traffic or bike lanes while on their phones or so they can be first to cross the street—that causes issues. Or people crossing on red lights, not even paying attention.
I think that the concern about law-breaking cyclists is silly. Yes, it’s a problem, but there are also many law-abiding cyclists who use it as their primary mode of transportation. Why should we suffer because of other’s mistakes?
Siddhartha, respectfully my friend – I have first hand observation of many, many cyclists disobeying red lights using speeds high enough to hurt people, some times badly. if a car hit you and was UNINSURED like cyclists are you’d see this differently. The Police try but have not gotten a handle as on this very real real problem. Also, if cyclists want their own piece of the road they should be required to have insurance and licensing just like cars, then lets see how many want to ride their bikes. Besides, public transport is plentiful on the UWS and certainly cheap enough – especially useful in the winter when bikes are useless.
That’s so extreme. The great majority of incidents (which I hardly see to begin with) or near-incidents for myself are nearly all caused by lackadaisical pedestrians not cyclists. So if a pedestrian just steps into the bike lane as I’m passing by and knocks me over or into the street – well by your logic that person should have walking-around insurance. Seems extreme and silly. I’ve been riding around the UWS for years and other than people crossing streets (not avenues) against the red, I rarely see issues.
That’s the problem in a nutshell, Anonymous Dots. Cyclists seem honestly not to understand their role in street safety and how unusual it is for a cyclist to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and to stop for them at red lights.
Not sure why that is, but if they don’t look at and acknowledge the cycling chaos around them, I don’t thing it’s possible to have any sort of meeting of the minds.
We need better turn signals on 96 st and CPW. I wrote to councilman Levine about this, and have gotten no answer.
About bike lanes, seems delivery people don’t follow the rules
I look forward to this. It always seemed like a big oversight to have a good downtown bike route but nothing going uptown.
Concerns about pedestrian safety aren’t relevant: The bicyclists will be scaring pedestrians regardless if there’s a bike lane or not.
I LOVE my bike and really thought the bike lanes would be a wonderful addition to the UWS. Then the reality of delivery guys with bikes set in. Crossing Columbus avenue at the light I have almost been hit by bikes riding in BOTH directions. The problem is soooo prevalent that I don’t feel confident letting my young teenagers cross Columbus Avenue at night to walk our puppy dog around the history museum. The day time might be better, but the delivery bike issue must be addressed before I could support having bike lanes on Amsterdam Avenue, the street where I live and already must be vigilant about being bit by delivery bikes who run the light regularly. We would need traffic police out there to make sure bikes adhere to traffic lights.
But the bike delivery guys are on Columbus regardless of whether there are lanes or not. At least the bike lanes bring order to the situation. I know to look for bicycles when I’m crossing the bike lanes. The problem is bicyclists who don’t bother to use the lanes who shoot out of nowhere. One time (before the bike lanes) I was crossing Columbus at 71st, from west to east, at night. I had the light, and this bicycle came zooming by, just barely missing me. He was just on the other side of some parked cars, heading the wrong way on Columbus (north), and zooming through a red light. I’m sure he quickly glanced east to make sure a car wasn’t coming from 71st, but he sure wasn’t looking for any pedestrians to the west. And he was invisible to me until he was just about on top of me. Much better if he had been on a bike lane heading north on Amsterdam.
“One time”? Lucky. 😉
I hate to break this to you, but no bike delivery guy is going to cross over to Amsterdam or Columbus to ride in the correct north-south direction if it requires any time or effort on their part.
Well, they definitely won’t if there is no choice. But clearly enforcement is needed, and pressure should be put on restaurants to insist that their employees ride safely and legally, in the right direction. The delivery guys should have to have clear markings as to what restaurants they work for so complaints can be directed to the restaurants, who should have the onus for supervising their employees. And this is true whether there are bike lanes or not. I DO notice that more delivery guys are using the bike lanes than when they first appeared. There are still some that don’t, but it’s moving in the right direction.
Traffic cops to make sure cyclists dont run red lights? Okay. How many cyclists have killed pedestrians on the UWS compared to automobiles? If I follow your logic, then maybe we should have traffic cops paying attention to cars?
We need bike lanes, and we also need a culture where cyclists follow the rules.
One question is “what are the rules for cyclists.” We all know that both cars and pedestrians are not “supposed” to go on the red, but that it’s OK for pedestrians if it’s safe but is not OK for cars. The question is: what are the “real” rules for cyclists.
As we get more cyclists, those will have to develop, partly by culture with the encouragement of police enforcement.
And pedestrians too will need to get used to looking out for cyclists, and not stepping out into their way while talking on their cell phones etc.
Bike lanes make all this easier and better.
I am thrilled about a bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue. I often bike with my 3 year old and the traffic speed is terrifying. I sometimes bike north on the Columbus Avenue bike lane to avoid Amsterdam. A protected bike lane on Amsterdam will save lives as well help it to make sense that the Columbus Avenue bike lane is only Southbound.
Jamie – stay in the park with your 3 yo it’s far safer, bike lane or not. This is not Hong Kong or London as Bloomberg figured it was (being rich and being smart are mutually exclusive). Simply put, more bike lanes means more congestion and pollution – reasons are obvious – sqeeze the traffic lanes and vehicles move slower and are more in a rush to get through, do I have to go on to make this clearer – keep that child in the park. Bikes, and bike lanes do not work in Manhattan, the work to make it MORE CROWDED.
John, the point of bike lanes is to ENCOURAGE bike use, and discourage cars. The result being, like in other cities, less congestion, less pollution and quicker access.
I like bikes.
webot, see my reply to Mike. I like bikes too, most especially in the park. They closed the north – south bound central park roadways for bikes, pushed out traffic laterally on both sides (good for the greenery); pollution was reduced in the park but what about the pollution on lateral roadways; familiar with the algorithm of inverse squares, well it doesn’t just double it has most likely quadrupled. That’s the way Bloomberg’s people did studies, they never looked to the sides. The point being is cars have not been discouraged and never will, there is too much business going on in Manhattan. These plans are failed policies.
I don’t bike much on Amsterdam as it is because it doesn’t feel safe. But I bike in the park, and have to ride a 3-block stretch of Amsterdam to ride back to where I live (on Amsterdam) without salmoning. It is utterly terrifying to me every time. And the kicker is, I’ve biked coast to coast across the US. The avenue is so long overdue for a neighborhood-friendly, biker-safe design.
What about the long term studies that have proven otherwise?
Mike, where are these studies, if they’re are any they were not done in Manhattan. That’s why Bloomberg’s administration is being brought to court for not doing proper environmental studies by real scientists, not the DOT. In addition, not since bike lanes, pedestrian malls and all this complete street innovation has there EVER been a reduction in vehicles, not by a single one. Manhattan is NOT Hong Kong nor London, and never will be, the dynamics are completely anti-diametrical.
Vehicle reduction is accomplished by politicians who have more interest then to gleen votes by giving tid-bits to there voting base. The n there is the rebound effect, if people see there are less cars I may induce them to get a car. Let’s get real my friend.
This article links to the study.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2012/12/12/board-splits-on-columbus-avenue-bike-lane-extension-lane-has-helped-business-safety-says-dot
Citation please.
I am all for a bike lane on Amsterdam Ave. I am also for traffic-calming measures that would increase the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.
Ms. Rosenthal is very pro bike – this is a bad idea, it will only mean more congestion, loss of parking and even more loss when they have to put in special loading zones as they’ve done on Columbus Ave to releave vehicle slowing do to narrower lanes (these people just don’t learn), And it will turn out to be another under used bike lane. They just don’t see the long term consequence. Politicians are only looking for votes, she identifies herself with those false ‘going green’ blockheads who are only making things more crowded then they already are. If people opposed don’t write and get to the community board meetings they’ll keep pushing these asinine plans right past everyone.
Not necessarily true.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/bike-lanes-dont-cause-traffic-jams-if-youre-smart-about-where-you-build-them/
Or, true. “This is an important point: Bike lanes don’t cause a lot more congestion if you put them on the right streets. If you cut down the size of streets that are already near capacity, you’ll create severe congestion.”
I bike down Columbus Av to work every morning (the entire length of it) during rush hour. I rarely see congestion except – ironically – in the part where there is no bike lane (below 65th). DOT did a good job studying it and making the right choices!
I have to agree. Amsterdam is very congested at times, especially between 92nd and 96th Streets as traffic builds up in mid-afternoons to rush hour. To lose a lane in addition, and have more difficulty hailing cabs is a loss, not a gain. Let bike traffic increase using Columbus and when it starts to become popular enough to need a lane, have that conversation then. Delivery people on bikes will always bike wherever they want; bike lanes will not hold them in, anyway.
Someone should correct me if I’m wrong, but the issue with Amsterdam is that it’s narrower than Columbus. So, if a bike lane were to be added, they’d need to remove a lane of traffic, causing additional congestion.
Since Amsterdam’s a truck route, that traffic would either back up on Amsterdam, or spill over to Broadway and CPW (or both). It’s odd that CM Rosenthal doesn’t seem to be concerned at all about this issue – just eager to get a bike lane in as fast as possible.
Amsterdam is the northbound route that complements Columbus. Trucks that arrive through one leave using the other (no trucks are permitted on WEA or CPW). If Columbus was always doing fine with 3 lanes, why would all your fears suddenly become realized on Amsterdam?
I believe you are wrong, Jeremy… I think they are the same width, with same lanes. TomTom, you are also wrong. There are people who ride bikes on Columbus besides delivery men. I for one do, (although since I live much further west than that, it just doesn’t make sense most of the time to pedal blocks out of the way just to get onto a bike lane downtown. If I’m going to do that, I’ll just ride into the park) And friends of mine do.
There is no comparing the uptown bike traffic on Amst. vs. the downtown lanes on Columbus. The Col. Ave lane only went 10-15 blocks in its infancy. It didn’t take you anywhere you wanted to go!!! As soon as you got south of 79th St. there were no dedicated lanes – it was (and still is) a mess; and just where the traffic becomes most congested and biking most dangerous (as you approach the Lincoln Center area). You could basically ride from 96th St to the museum of Natural History, and that was it. It would have worked much better to put a bike lane on West End Ave or Broadway downtown.
imho bike lanes on Amsterdam would be great and I hope they try it. And if anyone had been at the meetings (as I was), they would have heard that seniors are in favor of these lanes, because it helps them cross a narrower street in one light (they cross to the divider and then wait).
The whole point of these lanes is to create a safe biking corridor from North to South and back up, in a seamless, continued protected lane. To date that has not happened, unless you’re in Riverside Park, or riding in Central Park – both fairly extreme locations if you live in the middle of the UWS. These lanes need more dedication, not less, in order to really work as they should.
These bikes lanes also need rails on the sidewalk side so that pedestrians don’t wander into the bike lanes which can also cause a lot of accidents. And the city needs to create loading zones on each block for trucks in order to avoid the triple parked syndrome that can clog the remaining open lanes (as happens on Columbus).
It all involves a lot of mindset changing. Open yourselves to change.
A commercial street like Amsterdam Ave is the worst place to put any bike lane. Columbus Ave shows this to be the case. The best place for an uptown only protected bike lane is Central Park West. It would complement the downtown route in Central Park and provide an uptown route for commuting with a direct unimpeded lane from downtown. It is only a short distance from Columbus and Amsterdam avenues for bike riders wanting to shop or socialize using their bikes. The issues of commercial parking and turn lanes would be minimal or non existent.
Well, which way is the wind blowing, that’s were the political talking heads will be looking to score as many votes as they can get!!
So you’re saying most residents want it? lol
How do you figure that Amsterdam is more narrow than Columbus?
Maybe it’s that the Amsterdam lanes are already narrow. The draft plan from Transportation Alternatives for Amsterdam definitely takes a lane from car/bus/truck use and turns it over to cyclists, squeezing the existing traffic into fewer lanes. On Columbus, they didn’t reduce the number of traffic lanes, just narrowed them.
Do you happen to have a link? The only draft plan I can find for Amsterdam is up in Washington Heights.
The DOT has not yet drawn up a plan. That will probably come in the next few months and we’ll post it. WSR
I don’t know if the plan exists in plan form, but WSR has reported on it previously: https://www.westsiderag.com/2013/10/14/important-meeting-tuesday-should-amsterdam-avenue-get-protected-bike-lanes
Everyone wants a monument, maybe this bike lane is hers!
Well, a bike lane as a monument (better word: legacy) is a lot safer than SOMEONE’s (name withheld) seeking his (hint) legacy by creating a make-believe nuclear-treaty with Iran that could easily jeoparidize the future of Israel and possibly of the entire Middle East!
Hmmmm…wonder who that could be !!!!!!
john and jeremy, exactly right.
Columbus in the 80’s and 90’s is a dangerous madhouse. triple parking on both sides, with delivery trucks. frequently only one center lane going downtown. Cabs accelerating across all lanes for pick-ups, to get around slow moving traffic and to go across all lanes to make turns. All for the bike lanes that are almost universally empty… except for 33% of delivery guys going the WRONG way.
Walking AND driving is now much much less safe. If safety and not public relations is the real concern bike lanes are NOT the answer.
If this would prevent the food couriers from zipping down Amsterdam southbound and almost clipping unsuspecting people looking the other way for vehicular and bike traffic, I am all for it! ALso, there needs to be a standard set for bikes that do not obey traffic laws, and the ones that come up on the corner curbs at full speed as if they own the pavement. Could be a great multi-million dollar proposition for the city, and a way to fun the 1,000 cops that this Mayor doesn’t think the city needs (does he not read the paper?) Also, this will cause more congestion as delivery trucks already double park on both sides of the street, narrowing a 3-lane thoroughfare to two lanes, so how will that be addressed?
Let’s require delivery riders to wear vests identifying their restaurant and the phone number. Similar to delivery trucks displaying their information to identify an unsafe driver. Include the city number to call to report a wrong way driver. Publish the names of the businesses with unsafe drivers. Perhaps they will crack down on their riders.
I am pretty sure this regulation is in place. Almost every delivery guy I see has ID of employer on his glow vest. Your opinion as to whether this works to restrain traffic violations?
I was nearly clipped last night in the dark on West End by a delivery man riding the wrong way with no vest and no light on bike. Do you know where I can read this regulation? I have never seen the name of a business on a delivery man’s vest. If I had seen a name I would have called the business myself. I ride a bike, obey traffic rules and am pro bike lane. We need new ideas about enforcing traffic rules for bikers and most especially delivery men.
Bad idea, basically a total waste. I am out a lot on Columbus Avenue and rarely do I see anyone using the lanes, and certainly not delivery boys. They don’t obey the traffic laws and go north instead of south. Most delivery guys ride the sidewalk (against the law) and go very fast; I’ve almost been hit many times. Even crossing Columbus you have to look north & south when crossing cause they come from all directions at breakneck speed. They don’t use bike lanes!
The bike lanes are a good idea but do we really need one on every avenue? I’d like to know when the city is going to start policing them, riders are constantly going both ways. Is someone going to have to get killed before laws are enforced??
THESE BIKE LANES HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT NIGHTMARES…. THE CITY STREETS HAVE BEEN RUINED. TRAFFIC IS BACK UP FOR BLOCKS. PEDESTRIANS ARE NOT ABLE TOCROSS THE STREETS SAFELY. THEY WERE A STUPID IDEA FROM THE START. THIS IS NOT THE COUNTRY OF AMSTERDAM …..
NOT EVERY IDEA SHOULD BE IMPORTED.
Ease up on the ALL CAPS, Joan. You know that all caps = screaming, right? And no one like to hear screaming, nor read yelling. If you said something worthy and intelligent, I skipped it, because YOU WERE SCREAMING. Just a tip for future discourse online.
Amsterdam is not a country.
NO, no, one thousand times no. Columbus is now impossible to navigate. We do not need another avenue where it is difficult (maybe impossible) for vendors to deliver and motorists to see pedestrians crossing against lights in the middle of blocks.
Bike lanes without motor vehicle parking enforcement is very unwise. It has turned Columbus Avenue into a one-lane road clogged with gridlocked cars and – yes, City buses. You can’t ever predict your travel time and the bike lanes are largely empty. Delivery guys are still using the street – often traveling the wrong way (even when they use the bike path).
The Columbus Avenue bike lane is not safe for bikers either. Too much garbage and debris from pedestrians and businesses on Columbus are a problem. The street itself is badly paved. Bikers not following traffic rules make it hazardous to all. A bike lane on a busy commercial street is not the answer. On the UWS, Central Park West should be the choice for the uptown bike lane, West End Ave would be another.
I wonder if anyone has done a study to see how much the pollution levels have increased in the locations where these lanes have gone in. Ninth Avenue is horrendous with traffic all day long since they installed bikes lanes, like every other avenue. These lanes get hardly any use what so ever. Just another waste of tax payer money and nuisance to the neighborhood. Leave it alone Helen. You want to make an impact on law breaking cyclists have some type of fine and enforce it for all the cyclist on the sidewalk. A lane will not stop that.
all this venting reminds me of the reaction on this site to the Dept of Transportation’s proposed Vision Zero pedestrian improvement. “Morons! Idiots! Don’t they understand anything?”
lo and behold, as far as I can see the changes on Bway and 96th and West End and 95th are a big step forward.
Encouraging biking in the city is good public policy. I honestly don’t know if putting a bike lane on Amsterdam is itself a good idea but i tend to give the professionals the benefit of the doubt. as for Helen Rosenthat being “pro bike”: good for her!!
(from a weekend cyclist).
I just noticed that the vote above on bike lanes on AMsterdam is running almost 2-1 “yes.” you wouldn’t know it from the comments.
For once I agree with Bruce! 😀
I love the complaints about congestion on Columbus because a) it’s not congested and b) you’d think the world was coming to and end due to the disastrous bike lane.
Not congested? You either reside in an alternate universe or don’t leave your home before noon!
And c) who owns a car here anyway? Congestion only affects you if you drive or take cabs.
Yes, encouraging biking IS good public policy…. however every policy needs to be rationally implemented. I don’t think anyone would think bike lanes on the west side highway or GW bridge or in the midtown tunnel makes sense. I would think bike lanes should be placed in locations that are safe, would be moderately used and which would minimize unintended traffic safety considerations. Since columbus avenue seems counterproductive, I’m not sure why Amsterdam would be a good idea.
As far as the comment about the “public vote”, maybe they should rephrase the question: should the city install bike lanes on Amsterdam, knowing it will contribute to severe traffic congestion and likely create worse pedestrian safety issues”
For all the biking folks here (including me), its also interesting how the comments on this board run heavily heavily anti-bike when there are accidents etc.
Talking about good public policy, why doesn’t Helen Rosenthal fight to ban Central Park auto traffic??
LOL! Why doesn’t she? She does! And she did get a ban on cars in the park!
There is a bike lane across the GW bridge. I’ve used it many times to cross over to NJ for weekend rides up the palisades
Isnt the GWB “bike lane” a shared bike pedestrian path completely separate from auto traffic??
My point was that it would be an absurd idea to turn an active auto lane on the bridge into a bike lane…. dangerous for all concerned and liable to cause more congestion.
Thus my argument that taking a lane from columbus or amsterdam, although philosophically appealing is counterproductive in a realistic way.
As an avid biker in this city for over the twenty years ,I can tell you that the Columbus bike lanes do way more harm ( for bikes and cars) .I would like Helen to stand on Columbus for an hour or two ,on a nice day, and count the number of people using the bike lanes.. THERE IS HARDLY ANYBODY !!!! And that’s not taking in the months, November to March, when THERE IS NOBODY. I do realize the delivery men do use them,but they only do when, it is convenient for their route. We already have great bike lanes in riverside and central park. The congestion and headache of trucks and people trying to park next to the lane should convince everyone that these are horrible ideas.
I use the Columbus Av bike lane all year round. Even in the snow (separate set of tires for that!) I’m grateful for the fact I no longer have near death experiences by aggressive motorists EVERY SINGLE DAY like before the protected bike lane was there.
As a long time bike commuter, this comment (and several others) reminds me of when Mayor Koch (remember him) decided to survey the use of bikes in Central Park and the few then extant bike lanes. He surveyed for two weeks — the first two weeks in FEBRUARY, and declared “People aren’t using the bike lanes to the degree we expected.” I’d call that a “Homer Simpson moment.” As are a number of the above comments. I feel radically afraid when I am forced to go uptown on Amsterdam, mainly because of the double and triple parked delivery vehicles, forcing all traffic into dangerous, frustrating nearness. A bike lane would be a godsend. And, anyway, with all the retail landlord rapacity forcing real merchants out of business, banks and T-Mobile stores don’t get many deliveries!
I’m incredibly grateful for this – thank you Helen Rosenthal.
Non-driver here – and do not favor bike lanes on Amsterdam.
Over past few years seems more and more cyclists behaving badly in NYC, disregarding lights, speeding past pedestrians etc. Very scary.
And it is not the delivery people but the “regular” folks on expensive bikes who seem to behave the worst.
I no longer have any faith in NYC cyclists to do the right thing.
The redesign is meant to narrow Amsterdam Ave in order to reduce speeding by motorists. I guess it doesn’t seem to concern you how much above the speed limit most motorists are going, even when they consistently speed through a red light (“catching the yellow”). Do your own little survey and see!
I’m really glad they are considering bike lanes on Amsterdam Ave. The speed of traffic (particularly the speed in which trucks move up Amsterdam) is downright terrifying. I say this as an able-bodied twenty-something year old; I can’t imagine what it’s like for the elderly or for younger folks.
If there isn’t full support for a bike lane then at the absolute minimum we need a serious road diet for Amsterdam from 59th St. on up.
Just saw a bicycle delivery man get taken out by a car door on 83rd and Amsterdam. #visionzero
Yet another bad idea from Rosenthal, whom I only hope is a one-term councilmember. She continues to waste her time and taypayer dollars on idiotic ideas and projects.
I’m all for bike lanes….BUT the city needs to start ticketing bikers (especially delivery people) for going the wrong way in them. Besides it being against the law, it’s just plain dangerous.
Three words for all those oppose to the bike lanes:
CITIBIKE
IS
COMING
Just what NYC needs….more under-used bicycle lanes and more traffic congestion and fumes.
I’m a pedestrian, motorist and cyclist. I own a car that I occasionally use to get out of town on weekends. I wholeheartedly support the Columbus Avenue bike lane.
Bike lanes are part of a broader concept called “traffic calming”. It’s apparent that many who post here don’t understand this concept, which is DESIGNED to slow vehicular traffic, an idea that makes total sense in neighborhoods where few own cars and the main means of getting around is walking. Remember what Columbus was like before it got its bike way? It was a wide, no-holes-barred, major truck route where huge, snarling trucks routinely barreled down the Avenue at speeds well above the speed limit. The addition of a protected bike lane narrow and/or removes a lane of traffic, forcing motor vehicles to SLOW DOWN. Again, this is by design. The bike lane also gives cyclists half a chance (I dare say before the advent of bike lanes, many motorists thought cyclists had no legal right to be on the street!). What’s more, protected bike lanes “move” vehicular traffic and parked vehicles further away from the sidewalk; a boon to sidewalk pedestrians and outdoor cafe goers alike. Bravo!