Washington Avenue Sporting New Bike Lanes
It was only a month ago that the DOT presented its plan to renovate Washington Avenue from Eastern Parkway to Atlantic, but bike lanes have just been painted in. Currently, the lanes only extend as far north as Bergen. Also in the works: Shortened bus stops, new loading zones, new and standardized muni meters, and…
It was only a month ago that the DOT presented its plan to renovate Washington Avenue from Eastern Parkway to Atlantic, but bike lanes have just been painted in. Currently, the lanes only extend as far north as Bergen. Also in the works: Shortened bus stops, new loading zones, new and standardized muni meters, and new signal timing. When the street striping is all done, it will closely resemble the configuration on 5th Avenue in Park Slope.
DOT Designs on Washington Avenue [Brownstoner]
Minard, don’t worry, cyclists aren’t magical thinkers and/or morons despite all the negative chatter.
Someday you folks will get on a bike and realize 1) it’s not that scary and 2) you can get from Washington Avenue to Carroll Gardens in 10 minutes.
It’s not complicated or threatening or anything. The anti-bike rhetoric is so absurd, and it just feels to me like an acceptable place for New Yorkers to direct their conservative/reactionary/”get off my lawn” sentiments because the prevailing politics don’t let you live in Brooklyn Heights and, say, support “traditional” marriage.
But guess what, DOT painting some lines on Washington Avenue is not a sign that everything is going to hell and kids these days et cetera et cetera. It’s progress, and I think pretty clear, at that.
No one should bike on 4th Avenue — even driving on 4th Avenue gets the heart pumping.
But I actually agree, it would be nice to see a “complete street” on 4th Avenue. But I think that’s one of those streets that the wild west speedway is very much established.
(And actually *goes* further than a mile like PPW… i.e., you can almost justify the high speed driving. Of course you can’t *actually* justify it, but…)
yes, I know, I prefer lines especially on Fourth Avenue, where there are no lines.
Minard…. that’s the point. They are *adding* these lines to the streets.
It increases awareness. It’s makes the roadways more defined. Etc. etc. etc.
half the streets in Brooklyn have no lines at all.
This is a win for both cyclists and drivers. As zinka pointed out, the street is really too narrow for two car lanes any way. Also, the installation of muni meters will provide more parking spaces.
One would hope that the existence of the lines would increase spacial awareness of the bike area though of course there is no way to totally protect bikers from double parked cars or people throwing their doors open without looking.
isn’t this more or less where cyclists drove their bikes anyway?
If the driver of a big delivery, garbage, or construction truck sees you, he sees you, if not, the line is not going to help. ditto for someone opening their car door.
I hope that cyclists do not get the idea that these lines will magically protect them.
Very sensible. The street is too narrow for two lanes each way, and having one wide lane makes cars drive too fast. Narrowing the lane by installing a bike lane will calm traffic and provide safe space for cyclists too.