C.B. 7 committee green lights C.P.W. bike lane
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
The Transportation Committee
of the Upper West Side’s Community
Board 7 approved a proposed
northbound protected bike lane
along Central Park West on June 10.
The Department of Transportation’s
proposed bike lane would run north
from W. 59th St. to W. 110th St. The
plan would require the removal of 400
parking spaces along the eastern side
of the avenue. The bike lane would be
painted, bordered by the curb on its
right, as well as by physical barriers
separating it from traffi c by 7 feet.
“This is a great step in the right direction,”
said Howard Yaruss, C.B. 7
Transportation Committee chairperson
After Madison Jane Lyden, a 23-yearold
Australian tourist, died after being
forced to swerve her bike into oncoming
traffi c along the avenue in 2018,
Upper West Siders, bicycle safety activists,
C.B. 7 and local elected offi cials,
including Assemblymember Richard
Gottfried and Councilmember Helen
Rosenthal, called on D.O.T. to create a
two-way protected bike lane.
But D.O.T. Manhattan Borough
Commission Edward Pincar; Director
of Bicycle and Greenway Programs Ted
Wright; and Senior Project Manager
at the Bicycle and Greenway Program
Nick Carey said that a southbound
lane was not feasible. According to
Wright, anticipating the movements of
southbound cyclists in a second lane
would be “too counterintuitive” for
southbound drivers waiting for gaps
in between northbound cars, bicycles
and pedestrians in order to make lefthand
turns. Designing a southbound
lane that would also need to accommodate
the 22 northbound bus stops
along Central Park West would also be
a challenging.
Attendees at the packed committee
at the chapel in Congregation Rodeph
Sholom were divided.
“There aren’t enough people using
bikes to justify inconveniencing everyone,”
said Upper West Sider Fern
Arden. The 84th St. and Central Park
West resident complained that traffi c
has worsened on neighboring Columbus
Ave. since a southbound bike lane
was installed 2010. She did not want to
see the same thing happen on another
major traffi c vein. Other opponents
were concerned about a cut to scarce
parking space.
According an October 2018 count by
D.O.T., 1,310 cyclists passed W. 66th
St. and 1,540 passed W. 86th St. within
a 12-hour period, qualifying Central
Park West as a heavily used bike route.
At the meeting, D.O.T representatives
added that two-thirds of the cyclists
counted were heading northbound.
According to D.O.T data, between
Reed Rubey, from Streetopia, held a photo of Madison Jane Lyden, 23, killed by a garbage truck on C.P.W.
A design rendering of Central Park West with and without the proposed protected lane.
2013 and 2017, a total of 22 cyclists
and pedestrians were severely injured
on Central Park West between W.
59th St. and W. 110th St. And a total
of 95 pedestrians and 94 cyclists have
received some sort of injury along the
avenue, based on the data. A total of
40 people have either been severely injured,
or killed, at 96th St. and Central
Park West.
Those in support of the bike lanes,
were moved to do so to decrease the
number injuries and stop another tragic
death like Lyden’s.
“It’s not a matter of if there will be
another Madison Lyden, it’s when” said
Deputy Inspector Timothy Malin from
the 20th Precinct, which responded to
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
collision that killed the young Australian.
The proposed bike lane plan will
be voted on again at C.B. 7’s next fullboard
meeting, in July. If the resolution
passes, the earliest that D.O.T. could
begin constructing the protected bike
lane would be later this summer.
6 Month xx - Month xx, 2019 MEX Schneps Media