Plaza Street May Get Bike Lane After All

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    A two-way protected bike lane may soon come to Plaza Street, a street improvement previously shelved by DOT after the intense debate involving the installation of the Prospect Park West bike lane. The bike lane was included in initial plans to improve Grand Army Plaza, a project that wrapped last November. As Streetsblog puts it: “The big difference between last year’s DOT plan and this year’s is that the two-way, protected bike lane on Plaza Street has been set aside until an unspecified date in the future. Plaza Street encircles most of GAP, and a two-way path would create a safe hub for cyclists to take the most convenient routes to and through the space. But after last year’s CB votes, some Plaza Street residents contacted the city saying the parking-protected bikeway would cause traffic back-ups, even though Plaza Street receives little traffic and is already just one lane wide.” DOT told Community Board 8 that “it would have taken too long to do outreach” to get the bike lane approved within the project timeline. Well, later this month DOT returns to CB6 and CB8 with a bike lane proposal. According to the CB6 calendar, a “Joint presentation to and review by the Transportation Committees of Brooklyn Community Boards 6 and 8 on a proposal by the Department of Transportation to install a two-way bicycle lane on Plaza Street at the Grand Army Plaza” is scheduled for April 19th. DOT has been working with residents since the GAP reno and will present options to the community regarding the bike lane at this meeting.
    GAP Redesign Celebrated but Plaza Street Bike Lane Shelved [Brownstoner]

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