C.B. 5 O.K.’s 52nd, 55th Sts. protected bike lanes
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
Midtown will soon become easier
terrain for cyclists.
At its April 11 full-board
meeting, Community Board 5 passed
a resolution in favor of two protected
crosstown bike lanes in the 50s —
one eastbound on 52nd St. and one
westbound on 55th St.
The proposed bike lanes would
be 4 to 5 feet wide and protected by
a small buffer zone, plus an 8-footwide
parking lane. Creating the bike
lanes would require the removal of
41 commercial parking spaces on
the south side of 52nd St., plus 25
on the south side of 55th St. within
C.B. 5, which stretches from Eighth
Ave. to Lexington Ave.
Along with painting new green
bike lanes on the two streets, the
Department of Transportation
would improve intersections for
pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists
by installing Leading Pedestrian
Intervals (giving pedestrians a few
seconds head start at crosswalks)
and vehicle-separation zones with
delineators (white plastic fl exible
posts).
According to studies by D.O.T.,
narrowing driving lanes and creating
“fl oating” parking lanes (set at a
distance from the curb) calm traffi c
and result in slower and safer driving. Streets with protected
bike lanes have 15 percent fewer total crashes
and 21 percent fewer pedestrian injuries than
streets without them, according to D.O.T.
COURTESY D.O.T.
Community Board 5 has given its advisory approval to crosstown protected
bike lanes for 52nd and 55th Sts. They will look similar to this recently
installed one in the 20s blocks, above, which is protected by a small buffer
zone, plus a “floating” parking lane.
According to C.B. 5, the number of cyclists
currently using both streets without
a protected bike lane is more than
100 during peak hours, which is an
unusually high number of cyclists for
streets without protected bike lanes.
But giving advisory approval for
a bike lane resolution was atypical
for C.B. 5. The board also called on
D.O.T. to do a better job educating
the public about and advocating for
safer cycling behavior. The efforts
must go beyond the agency’s current
“Street Ambassadors,” the board
added.
“It needs to be more than the current
plan that happens right now
because what is currently going on
doesn’t seem to be effective,” said
board member David Sandler.
C.B. 5 only represents the middle
portion — between Eighth and Lexington
Aves. — of each proposed
bike lane. Community Boards 4 and
6, which represent the other sections
to the west and east, respectively,
have both also given their advisory
approval.
According to D.O.T., construction
on the bike lanes will begin this summer.
16 May 2, 2019 TVG Schneps Media