By Gus Saltonstall
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday on a brisk morning at Verdi Square for a rally against the recent city proposal for a two-way bike lane along 72nd Street.
Multiple speakers connected to “The No 72nd Street Bike Lane Coalition,” which hosted the event, took turns expressing their worries to the crowd that the new bike lane would take away pedestrian access to street curbs, especially for senior citizens, and make it more challenging for businesses along the corridor to unload shipments. They also protested the speed at which the plan from the city’s Department of Transportation seemed to be unfolding.
“This plan was going to be approved under the radar,” Darryl, one of the organizers of the rally, who did not provide her last name, told West Side Rag. “We just want to bring the subject to everybody’s attention, so we can get fair and proper community input. We like bike lanes. I bike. But to be stepping off of your curb onto a bi-directional bike lane is suicide.”
Currently, West 72nd Street has four lanes of vehicle traffic, two in each direction, and two lanes of parking. The plan would reallocate the roadway’s 60 feet, giving approximately nine feet to a two-way bike lane on the north side of the road. It would add loading zones for delivery vehicles and concrete platforms where pedestrians can wait to cross the street and exit and enter the M72 and M57 buses.
If implemented, the 72nd Street corridor would then have two parking lanes, two traffic lanes (one in each direction), and the new bike lanes. There would be approximately 25 fewer parking spaces, with those spots re-designated as loading zones and pedestrian islands.
“I think the proposal ignored virtually every aspect of a resident’s point of view,” said an Upper West Sider who attended the rally but did not share his name with the Rag. “It starts with safety issues. We have a lot of elderly, so for them to have to cross a two-lane, cross-directional lane that has not just bicycles but also many motorized vehicles, and also not to take into account commercial vehicles and businesses that need to get deliveries. You lose parking spots for residents that need cars to get to work every day.”
The DOT states that the installation of bike lanes leads to fewer injuries, particularly among seniors.
There was also a sizable contingent of people at the rally in support of the proposed West 72nd Street bike lane, including Dan Schwartz, who stood silently at the outskirts of the rally with a homemade sign reading, “Build the bike lane.”
“I live here in the neighborhood, my kids ride bikes and they need a safe way to get to Central Park and across town,” Schwartz said. “This bike lane is going to make it a lot easier on 72nd Street.”
As the Rag spoke to Schwartz, a woman walked over and said, “I hope a bike splatters you,” before quickly walking away. She did not answer our attempted follow-up question.
“What’s your reaction to that type of rhetoric?” the Rag asked Schwartz.
“It’s the west side,” he said with a shrug.
Upper West Sider Austin Celestin was also in attendance at the rally in support of the bike lane proposal.
“It’s a shame that people dichotomize pedestrian safety and cyclist safety,” he said. “I do believe we need enforcement of regulations on e-bikes; one injury is one too many. I was hit a few years ago and needed crutches, but I think bike lanes make it more predictable and more visible. Having that set place that a bike lane provides is something that would be huge for cyclist safety and pedestrian safety because it makes everything more organized.”
Worries specifically surrounding electric bikes were a theme from the rally.
“I wish the city and state had handled the regulations on the electric bikes before they tried to sneak this new bike lane in,” local resident Carol Stevens told the Rag. “I live here. It’s bad as it is. There’s no space to unload things. This will just make it worse. I’m not in support of the bike lane.”
Representatives from multiple businesses along West 72nd Street, including Tip Top Shoes and Gartner’s Hardware, also attended the rally to show their opposition to the bike lane proposal.
At one point, it appeared that Curtis Sliwa, local activist and New York City mayoral candidate, was going to share his opinion on the proposed 72nd Street bike lane. Sliwa walked through the crowd in his red Guardian Angels uniform and beret, but he was apparently only exiting the nearby train station.
The Upper West Side Community Board 7 had been scheduled to vote on the proposed bike lane May 5. But that action has been pushed back to the board’s June meeting, so the DOT and community board can gather more input from the community on the issue.
You can submit feedback — HERE.
Read More:
- DOT Proposes Major Redesign of 72nd Street, Including New Two-Way Bike Lane
- Opposition Group Schedules UWS Rally Against New 72nd Street Bike Lane Proposal
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The West 72nd Street Block Association’s own survey showed that 59% oppose the redesign.
How long until the bike lobby comes up with a list of local business to boycott and wishing to go broke like they did in Astoria?
A woman walked up to a man holding a sign that said “Build the bike lane” and told him she hoped a bike would splatter him. Then she ran off before a reporter could ask her to repeat it on the record. Cowardly and grotesque.
Think about the logic. She’s so worried about cyclists hurting pedestrians that her response is to wish exactly that on someone she disagrees with. The mask slipped. This was never about safety. It’s about parking spots and the inconvenience of sharing a street.
Schwartz said his kids need a safe way to bike to Central Park. Nobody at that rally had an answer for that, because there isn’t one. DOT data shows protected lanes cut injuries, including for seniors. Concrete pedestrian islands save lives. Chaotic shared roadways take them.
Build the lane. And grow up: Nearly everyone at this protest was far too old to be behaving like a toddler having a temper tantrum. It’s pathetic.
The line about parking spots is getting old. Maybe you should take your own survey and ask how many people don’t have cars and are still against this. I’m a senior and I’ve never met anyone who’s been hit by a car…plenty of people hit by bikes though, including babies in strollers. 😖
Count me in. Never had a car in the city and am very against this proposal. Unsafe.
Kids are more likely to get hit by e-bikes than cars.
Can you provide the evidence for that?
I went by this protest in the middle of running some errands to support the bike lane as well, but my kids accurately surmised it was ‘boring’ and we didn’t stick around long. What I did hear was a bunch of elderly, almost no one with kids or anyone under 50 throwing around exaggerated rhetoric like the above comment that a ‘bi-directional bike lane is suicide’. These elderly UWS are welcome to their opinion but as DOT notes, bike lanes result in lower rates of injuries for seniors.
Thanks to Dan and Austin for showing their support!
Please do not approve this. This will be a traffic nightmare. Traffic will basically be at a complete stand still.
Great to hear. The bicycle gang tends to scream the loudest so always gets their way. The opposition does not mobilize well. This is just a bad idea. Major crosstown streets are not meant for bikes. If they insist doing something like this, go up or down a block. But I still think this is a lousy idea.
And before all of the bikers start whining about cars parking for free, I am supportive of some kind of resident parking pass that car owners are charged. Cars are not the devil. I have had many more close calls from bikes and e-bikes than cars.
And I say all of this as someone who enjoys bike riding.
That woman who wished a violent accident on the protester must be proud of herself.
As moronic, nasty, and cowardly as she is, I hope she doesn’t suffer such an accident.
Bikes and Electric scooters are much more dangerous and wreckless for pedestrians than drivers in the 70s, parks and UWS.
Right… Did you read the previous article literally posted before this one?
“ Woman Killed in Wrong-Way Car Crash on West Side Highway Near 79th Street”
Car drivers are a menace. 2000 lbs of steel are much, much more dangerous than a bike every single time. Adding bike lanes will improve safety for pedestrians, cars, and bikes.