March 28, 2008

Adams Street Bike Lane Shenanigans Continue

Riding up Adams Street this week, we realized not much had changed since we wrote about the pervasive illegal parking in the bike lane in front of the Marriott Hotel back in December. This time we were also struck by the number of cars parked one block closer to Tillary. Upon closer inspection, some of the offenders included cars with a handicapped permit, a court officer permit and a NYPD permit. Nice.
No Love for the Adams Street Bike Lane [Brownstoner]

March 24, 2008

Closing Bell: Fading Glory of the Dumbo Triangle

It seems like just yesterday (okay, so it was last July) that the DOT was christening the former parking median in Dumbo with its signature green paint as part of a makeover into a lunchtime park. Eight months later, the paint job isn't holding up too well but we think the aged patina could be considered an improvement. What's next, astroturf?
Dumbo Triangle Gets DOT's Signature Green Paint [Brownstoner] GMAP
Dumbo Pedestrian Plaza Project On Record Pace [Brownstoner]
Less Parking, More Sitting for Dumbo [Brownstoner]

March 18, 2008

Push to Make DeKalb Avenue More Bicycle-Friendly

Per Streetsblog, the DOT is cooking up some changes for DeKalb Avenue that are meant to calm traffic on the thoroughfare and make it more friendly to bicyclists. The department wants to install a dedicated bike lane on DeKalb that stretches from Bed-Stuy to Fort Greene. The DOT, which is currently seeking community input for its plan, is also looking to undertake other initiatives such as improving intersection safety via more lane markings and enforcing time-limited parking during certain hours. Work on the 2.6-mile stretch could begin as early as May of this year. City stats say that seven out of ten households in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy are car-free and many lack convenient subway access, making them ideal neighborhoods to target in terms of introducing more bicycle-friendly features. The plan will be presented to Community Board 2 tonight.
DeKalb Avenue Could Become a More Complete Street [Streetsblog]
PDF: DeKalb Avenue Project [DOT]

March 10, 2008

Closing Bell: Repaving That Will Have to Be Repaved

Biking past the construction work on Flushing Avenue last week, it occurred to us that the sidewalk that was being rebuilt was not being widened to accommodate the Brooklyn Greenway that is planned to run around the outside of the Navy Yard. Seems kinda silly. GMAP