Behold the Prospect Park West Bike Lane!
Huge news, courtesy of a Park Slope tipster: The much-anticipated and hotly-debated Prospect Park West bike lane is upon us. Evidently the lines, shown here in this photo, were laid down just this morning. Photo by Joanna Oltman Smith
Huge news, courtesy of a Park Slope tipster: The much-anticipated and hotly-debated Prospect Park West bike lane is upon us. Evidently the lines, shown here in this photo, were laid down just this morning.
Photo by Joanna Oltman Smith
In regard to all bike lane posts it should always be stated:
Commuting by bicycle is an alternative available to some people some of the year not an option for all people all year round.
The only reason a small percentage of cycling commuters ever got this much power was because the DOT Commissioner is an out of touch elitist just like our mayor. Hopefully when she is gone we can go back to normal.
“feet trumps ALL. people can stand wherever they please.”
Yes pedestrians have the right of way, but that doesn’t mean they can stand where they please. You can contribute to someone else’s negligence.
“And finally NYC enters the 21st Century with regard to bike culture.”
Just because the paths are there doesn’t mean the culture has changed. One part of our culture that has changed is all the whining about how bicycling in the city isn’t safe and we need bike lanes. It’s as if New York has been taken over by whining, suburban, helicopter Moms.
Now, instead of cars going too fast along PPW they will now drive more aggressively and lane change more to jockey for position. I can’t imagine the resulting congestion is going to make the residents any happier. But at least now people can ride in the street instead of in the park.
all the people on this string talking about getting impatient with strollers or slow walkers or whatever… SLOW DOWN. CHILL. BE FRIENDLY. LOOK OUT FOR PEOPLE. BE KIND TO PEDESTRIANS WHEN YOU’RE IN A CAR, ON A BIKE, OR JUST WALKING FAST. SLOW DOWN BROOKLYN, BE SAFE.
But I have obtained drivers licenses in *three* countries (so far), Denton.
Pardon me, but why are bike lanes needed at all on Prospect Park West when there is a REALLY wide bike / runner / walker lane just inside the park? OK, there are times when cars are permitted to drive inside the park, but really, isn’t there quite enough room to ride your bike INSIDE the park already?
And, yes, I am an avid bicyclist and have been riding my bike in this area for the past 40 years or so. Talk about a huge waste of money in tight economic times! Almost as bad as the idiotic idea of making a pedestrian mall / table and chair arrangement on 14th St when Union Square Park is adjacent to the planned project. I don’t drive at all, so it’s not as if I would personally benefit from more lanes for vehicular traffic. Still, I doubt that we can really go back to the horse and buggy age, as delightful as that was. (Diptheria, polio, smallpox, measles, and whooping cough were also a real blast.)
“Sounds from all your rants that you’re just not a very good driver, tybur.”
look who’s taking, etson, you can’t even drive on the right side of the road!
Funny etson… I exaggerate when I say “almost hit” — but these stupid people REGULARLY just step into the road and stand there. If they lose a foot, I don’t fee I should be responsible. Wait on the goddamn sidewalk… cars can turn (and get out of your way) faster and there’s less chance of splattering your baby on the pavement.
That being said… these stupid people are actually piss me off more when I’m a pedestrian. Standing on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan during rush hour… there’s NO CHANCE of crossing until the light changes. BUT, lo and behold, stupid jerky has to wait IN FRONT OF ME in the road — and guess what, he/she then (more often than not) proceeds to walk slower than me a blocks my path. Aaaargh!
tybur…exactly. i hope to be riding on your wheel when it happens.
I know ‘stoner isn’t a bikelane forum, but if the eyes are on the page anyway this was in my mailbox today:
In regards to the condition of the pavement on Ocean Parkway, west of Park Circle, please be advised that we anticipate refurbishing Park Circle in 2011. Also, bicycle guide signs will soon be installed on Ocean Parkway to indicate the transition from the bicycle lane to the separated bicycle path. [ed. note: that’s the beatup pavement in the bikelane part of the circle he’s talking about. Only in NY does the circle get refurbished 1 year after it was built]
The eastbound bicycle lane on Caton Avenue was recently restored between McDonald Avenue and Ocean Parkway and DOT is in the process of relocating the correspnding westbound lane onto Fort Hamilton Parkway, one block to the north. This is in response to community complaints about the tightness of the previous design for bicycles, cars and buses.
Splitting the east and westbound bicycle lanes between Caton Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway will create a safer situation for all road users by better separating cyclists from moving vehicular traffic on Caton Avenue. This reconfiguration will also allow for wider parking lanes, which will better prevent cyclists from being hit by car doors.
Finally, regarding the removal of the Bedford Avenue bicycle lane, DOT upgraded and made improvements to the parallel Kent Avenue by implementing a parking protected two-way bicycle facility from Clymer Street to North 14th Street. These improvements better meet the loading and parking needs of the local businesses and residents, and provides a safer route for cyclists traveling north through Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Thank you for your interest in the safety of Brooklyn’s streets.
Joseph Palmieri
Borough Commissioner
Awesome! That parking lane looks like it will do wonders to stop the car service drivers from driving in the bike lane too. And here’s another vote for getting cars out of the park!