Some of North Brooklyn’s most perilous biking routes will be getting safer as part of the “Green Wave” plan for the Department of Transportation to bring more than 30 miles of protected bikes lanes to NYC over the next five years.
With 29 cyclist deaths in NYC in 2019, which is up from 10 deaths in 2018, attention has turned to the dangerous routes where increased protections for cyclists can save lives. Ten miles of bike lanes will be constructed in Brooklyn including a continuous lane connecting Kent Avenue and Franklin Street to West Street via Quay Street.
The Kent Avenue to West Street bike lanes are presented in three sections; Kent Avenue (N 13th – N 14th Streets), Franklin Street (N 14th – Quay Streets), and Quay Street (Franklin – West Streets):
Meeker Avenue is finally getting a protected bike lane in Williamsburg that will connect to the Kosciuszko Bridge, which was identified as a ‘death trap‘ for cyclists entering and exiting the bridge alongside heavy truck traffic. The DOT proposes the following along Meeker Avenue:
DOT is proposing safety improvements to address gaps in the pedestrian network on Meeker Avenue from Union to Metropolitan Avenues, and safety concerns at the intersections along Metropolitan Avenue between Union Avenue and Havemeyer Street. Improvements include signal timing changes, new crosswalks, sidewalk extensions and clarified vehicular movements.
Your quick video tour of the new Kosciuszko Bridge bike/foot path, 43rd Street in Queens to Van Dam & Meeker in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/NrKybaTtaU
— Bike New York (@bikenewyork) August 28, 2019
The new safety measures for the Kosciuszko Bridge include on the Queens side, an additional north-south route to Queens Blvd. “DOT will continue to look at improving the bike network connecting to the Kosciuszko Bridge, and will also continue to work with State DOT to provide a seamless and safe bike and pedestrian connection off the Kosciuszko Bridge Path entrance,” the DOT said in the press release.
Here’s a look at the recently installed two-way bike path on Meeker Ave, part of the new #bikenyc connections to the #KosciuszkoBridge underway now in both Brooklyn & Queens. #Biketober 🚲🍂 pic.twitter.com/Y9xIVEAtnX
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) October 2, 2019
Other bike lanes are planned for Navy Street near the Brooklyn Navy Yard; the 4th Avenue extension in Park Slope; Smith Street in Downtown Brooklyn; Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park; Ft. Hamilton Parkway in Windsor Terrace, and Remsen Avenue in Canarsie.