The initial Clove Road and bike path plan would break the project up into three segments. (Image courtesy of DOT)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Cyclists will soon be able to bike from Grymes Hill to the St. George Ferry Terminal without leaving a designated bike path.

In a joint Vision Zero press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that a Clove Road bike path and traffic calming initiative will be one of the city's first corridor improvement projects of 2015.

The new six-mile path would span Clove Road, from Howard Avenue to its Richmond Terrace terminus, where cyclists could connect to a pre-existing bike path. Along the way, the path links attractions like the Staten Island Zoo, Clove Lakes Park and Snug Harbor Botanical Garden

"[The path] would connect two major parks to the waterfront. Having a bike path for commuters going to the North Shore is a step in the right direction," said Greg Mihailovich, the Staten Island Organizer for Transportation Alternatives.

The non-profit organization started a push for a bike path on Clove Road several years ago. With its support, Community Board 1 sent a letter to the DOT, requesting a study of bike lanes on the artery.

Community Board 1 and DOT hope the path will promote active transportation, especially for Gyrmes Hill students at Wagner College and St. John's University looking to catch a ferry or patron local North Shore businesses.

"More and more people are starting to travel by bike," said Leticia Remauro, chairwoman of Community Board 1. "Young people are giving up cars and starting to use bicycles more and we have to be mindful as to where we're going in the future."

The DOT says that Staten Island has 60 miles of bicycle lanes. That consists of 35 miles of off-street bicycle paths, 15 miles of on-street dedicated bicycle lanes and 10 miles of shared bicycle lanes or signed routes. Two-way streets that feature bike route markings in both directions are counted twice by the DOT when measuring lane miles.

Clove Road is very high-trafficked, dangerous artery that the DOT ranks as one of Staten Island's high-crash corridors. With 7.3 traffic deaths or serious injuries per mile, it sits among the top 33 percent of dangerous Island roads.

"As Clove Road stands right now, it's a confusing and very crowded. We need to make it safer and move better," said Ms. Remauro. "If we do that I think we're going to see more pedestrians, more business and more people getting out of there car in an all around safer environment for transportation."

In the DOT's initial proposal, the Clove Road bike path and traffic-calming initiative would be split into three segments. Plans are subject to change as the DOT works on community board recommendations. The department said it will share an updated proposal with the board in the spring.

As the plan stands now, the DOT would get rid of the nighttime and Sunday parking allowed on Clove Road's right lanes of traffic and reduce the length of the road that serves four lanes of traffic.

Clove Road, Howard Avenue to Broadway

The DOT's original proposal for a bike path and traffic calming on Clove Road, from Howard Avenue to Broadway. (Image courtesy of the DOT)

From Howard Avenue to Broadway, the three-foot painted yellow median would be reduced to double yellow lines. This would allow space for two 5-foot bike lanes in each direction.

The right lane of southbound traffic would no longer allow for weeknight and Sunday parking. Four driving lanes would remain intact, but they would be narrowed from 12 feet each, to two 11-foot lanes and two 10-foot lanes.

Roy Fischman, the president of the Staten Island Bicycling Association and a member of Transportation Alternatives, says this will make for a safer street for all modes of transit.

"Signs don't slow cars down, but geography does. Cars travel at high speeds on Clove Road. Narrower lanes will slow them down," said Fishman. "If there are more bike lanes, our roads will be safer for everyone and it will make for an all-around healthier population in general."

Clove Road, Broadway to Forest Avenue

The DOT's original proposal for a bike path and traffic calming on Clove Road, from Broadway to Forest Avenue. (Image courtesy of the DOT)

From Broadway to Forest Avenue, the four lanes of traffic would be reduced to two, with a bike lane and a designated parking lane in each direction. The bike lanes would run between parked cars and the flow of traffic, and the yellow painted median would be expanded from 5 feet to 10 feet.

Clove Road, Forest Avenue to Richmond Terrace

As Clove Road naturally narrows, the DOT plans to keep the southbound parking lane, as well as the two lanes of thru traffic. It would reduce the double yellow line to a dotted yellow with shared bike lanes, or "sharrows," in each direction.

Ms. Remauro said she wants the city take a "holistic" approach to the new bike lanes. She said she hopes that surrounding attractions, like Clove Lakes Park, will consider opening themselves up to cyclists, though she has not yet brought up the concern with the Department of Parks and Recreation.

"Unfortunately, Clove Lakes Park is not bike-friendly," she said. "Hopefully the Parks Department will take this opportunity to reconsider and find a way to incorporate cyclists in its park as well."