Neigh! Carriage drivers worry about bike lane
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
The W. 52nd St. bike lane is worrying
drivers. No, actually not
car drivers, in this case.
A section — between the West Side
Highway and 11th Ave. — of the new
crosstown bike lane is currently being
painted on the southern side of the
street, which would cause cyclists to
pass directly in front of the entrance
and exit of the Clinton Park Stables,
which houses 70 horses that work in
Central Park.
Horse carriage drivers fear this section
of the bike lane could increase
chances of collisions between the animals
and cyclists.
Some carriage drivers say, with
alarm, that the bike lane is literally “under
the nose” of horses when coming
in and out of the stable.
“If you are driving a car and you
see somebody coming, you can put
your foot on the break,” said Coner
McHugh, the stable manager at Clinton
Park Stables. “That’s not always the
case with a horse. It may take a step or
two to stop it and that could be a step
too much.”
Department of Transportation representatives
recently visited the stable to
to inform him about the forthcoming
bike lane. McHugh said he expressed
to them his fears about cyclists accidentally
falling under a horse if there are
collisions. But he said his concerns fell
on deaf ears.
McHugh, an avid CitiBike user, added
that he is not against bike lanes and
wondered why D.O.T. did not instead
choose to place the lane on the northern
side of the street, bordering DeWitt
Clinton Park.
A second concern is about about
traffi c bottlenecking in the morning
since the available space for horse carriages
to use on the street has become
narrower.
“They are going to tie up traffi c because
there is no way for the cars to
get around them now,” said Christina
Hansen, a carriage driver and spokesperson
for the horse carriage industry,
about the roughly 30 to 35 horses that
leave the stable each morning. The traffi
c jam could continue until 10th Ave.,
where the carriage drivers have their
fi rst chance to turn north toward the
park
The 52nd St. lane is part of the third
set of crosstown bike lanes being installed
by D.O.T in order to increase
A horse carriage driver waiting in traffic on W. 52nd St. and 11th Ave. on his way to work. The new 52nd St.
bike lane has narrowed the traffic lane, making it difficult for cars or carriages to pass one another. The
hacks worry that the new lane worsens congestion on an already backed-up street in the mornings.
A minivan tries to pass a horse carriage that is causing a small line of traffic to form behind it on W. 52nd
St.
safety for all roadway users. The bike
lane stretches from 12th to First Ave.
Community Boards 4, 5 and 6 have all
approved of the lane.
According to a D.O.T. presentation,
the agency decided to put an eastbound
protected bike path on 52nd St.
because its width could easily accommodate
a bike path without requiring
the removal of a traffi c lane or parking
spots. For similar reasons, the agency
chose to site a new westbound bike lane
along 55th St.
“Prior to the bike lanes’ installation,
D.O.T. met individually with a number
of stakeholders along the routes, including
Clinton Park Stable, to explain
the project and further understand
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
their operations,” a D.O.T. spokesperson
said. “We have made minor design
adjustments to address concerns raised
on this particular block, and will continue
to monitor conditions along these
corridors and can make changes as
needed.”
D.O.T. did not go into detail in regard
to the minor design adjustments.
September 5 - S Schneps Media MEX eptember 18, 2019 23