Coming on the heels of the City’s DOT decision to move forward with a redesign of McGuinness Boulevard (dubbed a “road diet”), community members of various opinions will make their voices heard this Thursday with an oppositional meeting in the morning, and a Make McGuinness Safe march later in the evening.
McGuinness Boulevard and the potential for a redesign has long been a divisive issue in the community. Proponents of the redesign, which the DOT announced will reduce a lane of traffic in either direction to add more parking and bike lanes, say that the road diet is necessary to address the numerous fatalities and injuries that have occurred on the major thoroughfare over the years, as the plan will reduce speeding and improve visibility for both drivers and pedestrians alike.
Critics fear that the reduction of traffic could impact local businesses and divert traffic to smaller side streets, as well as hinder access to emergency services, however, the DOT notes in their plan that fire trucks will be encouraged to use the bike lanes to bypass traffic when necessary.
A town hall with the DOT, hosted by Keep McGuinness Moving, will take place this Thursday, June 15, starting at 8:45 a.m. The meeting is in-person only, so stop by Broadway Stages (279 Monitor Street) if you’re opposed to the plan.
If the redesign excites you, then the Make McGuinness Safe march at 6 p.m. will be more your speed. Meet at the intersection of Bayard and McGuinness.
Whichever option moves you, with these events on Thursday, no one can claim that they never got an opportunity to share their opinion. If our comments section indicates anything, Greenpointers readers are certainly a spirited, opinionated bunch. So make that energy count!
I’m more concerned about what happens as follows… concrete mixer or any other construction delivery vehicle is in the bike lane. There is traffic. Now, how does the ambulance/ fire truck/ police car get through? Also worried about side street traffic since we are parallel to McGuiness.
As a pro-business New Yorker, I’m very much in support of this street redesign that allows all types of transportation to effectively use this street.
Bike on another street.
Would you mind listing all of the northbound bike lanes in Greenpoint please?
Jewel, Newel, Diamond, Leonard are all terrific side streets for cycling. I also use Humboldt and think Provost could be a mixed use sidewalk (as in Europe, painted bike lanes on sidewalks for a shared bike-pedestrian lane, with pedestrians having right of way — Provost has too many trucks on the street itself). West Street bikeway is great, two-way. I walk my bike a block here and there when needed, no big deal. Keep McG for trucks and cars, it works well!
Hi MeesaNYC, thank you for answering my question. Of all the side streets you listed, only Jewel and Newel are northbound. On both of these streets, there is parking on both sides, and as a result, cars are unable to pass cyclists. This is normally okay, but during rush hour in AM and PM, cars get very aggressive whenever they encounter a cyclist on these streets. Furthermore, none of the side streets are officially sanctioned by the DOT – should an accident occur, this places the cyclist immediately AT FAULT even if the crash was caused by the driver’s error. Why should cyclists face this legal burden with healthcare and insurance, while the car gets the de facto upper hand? I would encourage you to try riding these streets during rush hour without getting honked at mercilessly by a BMW or Mercedes.
My point is this: there are ZERO *legal* northbound travel lanes for cyclists on the east side of Greenpoint. West St bikeway is great, but do you really think that’s practical to get from Cooper Park to Greenpoint Ave Bridge to Queens? Check out the DOT bike map, you’ll be surprised at how little coverage is on the east side. I also often walk my bike a block or two (often more), for safety – after 10+ yrs cycling around here, it’s too dangerous not to do so. Glad to hear that’s not a big deal for you, but what about those of us who rely on this infrastructure on a daily basis?
Re: Humboldt/Provost, do you really want elderly pedestrians to share their sidewalks with cyclists? Maybe Provost has the space to implement something along these lines, but given the narrow width of most streets in Greenpoint, I find this solution to be extremely impractical anywhere else. Humboldt north of the BQE isn’t the worst, and it might be wide enough for a bike lane similar to Leonard, which would be incredible. But how on earth would cyclists be able to share the already narrow sidewalks on Humboldt without removing trees? Are you sincere in this suggestion, do you really imagine it to be viable? Where in Europe are you talking about? Have you experienced this European shared sidewalk firsthand? In my younger days I was yelled at by some of Greenpoint’s elderly residents (rightfully so!) for riding on sidewalks out of fear.
Also, please consider the REALITY that most northbound cyclists are kettled onto Manhattan Ave, which is extremely dangerous south of Greenpoint Ave. This is due to the fact there is simply no other officially sanctioned route connecting to the northern part of GP. In fact, Google Maps literally instructs cyclists to take this route even though it’s illegal.
For the record, I would be open to a version of McG that doesn’t include bike lanes, so long as a reasonable northbound alternative is finally approved by DOT. I might suggest Eckford since it’s a natural extension of the Manhattan Ave bike lane coming up from E Wbrg, but this would likely require removing parking on one side, north of Driggs.
Lastly, please remember that supporting cycling infrastructure actually REMOVES cars from the road and REDUCES traffic. Simply a fact: each person not in a car is one less automobile adding traffic to our congested streets, making a better driving experience for people such as yourself.
Cheers and happy cycling,
Your neighbor