Posted on April 13, 2015 at 9:49 am by West Sider

Council member Helen Rosenthal sent a letter to the city Department of Transportation on Friday throwing her support behind a protected bicycle lane on Amsterdam Avenue from 59th to 110th street like the one on Columbus. The city said in late 2013 that it would study this idea and other ways to improve the street, following a vote by Community Board 7 approving the study.

“The avenue is wide with heavy commercial traffic, lined with many public and private schools, senior centers and the consequent pedestrian use. It is badly in need of safety measures and it is incumbent on the city to act quickly to ensure its residents’ safety. A protected bike lane, the shortening of the cross walk and clearly marked lanes create a street calming effect and go a long way towards ensuring safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.”

At meetings in 2013, some residents expressed concerns about the lanes, including seniors concerned about law-breaking cyclists. Business owners have also expressed mixed feelings about the lanes, which can make deliveries more tricky (though DOT has become better about mitigating this). But the majority of speakers at the meetings supported the lanes, which would give Upper West Siders a Northbound protected bike lane to match the Southbound one on Columbus. As Rosenthal notes, several bicyclists now use the Columbus Avenue lane to go North, which makes that lane dangerous.

Amsterdam Avenue, where long stretches of coordinated streetlights allow drivers to accelerate for several blocks without stopping, is one of the five most dangerous streets in Manhattan, according to one report. The photo above is on Amsterdam just South of 79th street.

The DOT tells us “we are reviewing possible safety enhancements along Amsterdam Avenue. We will work with the Council Member and the Community Board to discuss next steps.”

Rosenthal’s full letter is below. Take our poll on the Amsterdam lanes (first posted in 2012) at the bottom of this post.

Dear Commissioner Trottenberg, I write to you to extend my support to convert Amsterdam Avenue within my district and beyond into a “safe street.” The avenue is wide with heavy commercial traffic, lined with many public and private schools, senior centers and the consequent pedestrian use. It is badly in need of safety measures and it is incumbent on the city to act quickly to ensure its residents’ safety. A protected bike lane, the shortening of the cross walk and clearly marked lanes create a street calming effect and go a long way towards ensuring safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. The safety corridor on the UWS is incomplete without an uptown protected bike lane. It is a much needed addition to compliment the Columbus Avenue bike lane and in anticipation of the coming Citibike program which will add many bikes to our neighborhood streets. Currently, the Columbus Avenue bike lane is being used by both uptown and downtown riders creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians. This can be mitigated once an uptown bike lane is added to this portion of the West Side corridor creating an alternative pathway and enabling better enforcement of roadway rules. I plan on working closely with the 20th and 24th precinct as well as local restaurants to ensure these bike rules are strictly enforced. Vision Zero policies within my district have already had a significant and positive impact and I want to thank you for the work that DOT has already done to make the UWS a safer place to walk, ride and drive. The safety benefits of street calming for Amsterdam Avenue would be an important step in achieving our mutual goal of Vision Zero. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to working with you and the community on this issue.

No meetings have been scheduled yet to review plans for Amsterdam, but we’ll let you now when they do.

Should the city install protected bike lanes on Amsterdam Avenue? Yes

No View Results