Half of the cyclist deaths in New York City to date have been in Southern Brooklyn. Bay Ridge and it’s neighbors have historically lagged behind in cyclist safety improvements, while the rest of the city has seen major investment. But 2019 marks a turning point, as Bay Ridge will see it’s first protected bike lane (that isn’t inside a park), and a possible 53% increase in it’s total bike lane mileage. That includes a massive 114% increase in it’s dedicated bike lanes.
Today on the show our longtime transit correspondent Brian Hedden gets to talk about his work with Bike South Brooklyn!, our local cycling advocacy group. We will break down the new bike lane proposals, how they work, and some of the misconceptions around the design. We also suggest a few improvements, and rate the overall proposal. Is it too much? Not enough? Listen in and find out!
Show Notes
Expand to view Audio Bookmarks…
- Introduction
- The 7th Ave Protected Lane
- Why laying concrete is so slow
- The Existing Network
- Dooring Zones and Dedicated Lanes
- The New Bike Network
- Cyclists as a minority
- Organizing Cyclists
- Cyclist deaths in Southern Brooklyn
- Backlash to Cyclists
- Bike lanes on commercial avenues
- Removing parking
- A final look at the proposal
- The DOT’s responsibility
- The Community Board’s responsibility
- Upcoming Events and Conclusion
Get Involved with Bike South Brooklyn!
As we discussed, Brian is a lead organizer with Bike South Brooklyn! While not Bay Ridge specific, his group does cover Bay Ridge cycling advocacy. It also stretches as far out as Marine Park, covering a big chunk of Southern Brooklyn. They’ve been actively involved in the bike network planning process for about a year and a half, showing up to Community Board meetings and providing input. Members also drove significant turnout at the January planning workshop.
The group is open to cyclists of all ages and skill levels who want to help push for safer, more inclusive, and better designed bike infrastructure. They also have fun social rides throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall. You can check them out on their website or Facebook group.
Learn More About the Proposals
Remember to read the DOT’s proposals if you want more details. The Bike Network expansion is it’s own project, with it’s own webpage complete with an interactive feedback map. It’s kind of like the participatory budgeting map! You can also directly download the presentation given to Community Board 10 as a pdf.
The 7th avenue part of the bike network is separate. It’s in a much finer state of detail. You can check out the exact presentation given to the Community Board for it as well.
Breaking Down Bay Ridge’s Transit Mileage
Brian also mentioned during the episode that Dan had calculated some of the overall road stats for Bay Ridge. There are 75 miles of car lanes in Bay Ridge. Each lane in any direction counts for the total mileage. Parking lanes were also included in the count. You can see what effect all of the bike network proposals will have on Bay Ridge in the table below. You can also see expand the box further down for even more detail on the bike lanes!
| Road Lane | Existing Mileage | Proposed Mileage | Change |
| Automobile Lane | 75 miles | 74.4 miles | -.008% |
| Parking Lane | 105 miles | 105 miles | None |
| Class 3 Bike Lane (Sharrow) | 5.1 miles | 6.22 miles | +22% |
| Class 2 Bike Lane (Dedicated) | 6.31 miles | 13.51 miles | +114% |
| Class 1 Bike Lane (Protected) | 6.68 miles* | 7.94 miles | +19% |
* Note: Does not include highway and onramp/offramp mileage. Does not include Dyker Heights.
Detailed Bike Lane Breakdowns…
Existing Bike Lanes
| Route | Type | Mileage |
| 6th Ave | Class 3 | 1.84 mi (0.92 each way) |
| Ft Hamilton Pkwy | Class 3 | 0.68 mi (0.31 each way + 0.06 one way) |
| Marine Ave. | Class 3 | 1.32 mi (0.66 each way) |
| 5th Ave. | Class 3 | 0.72 mi (0.36 each way) |
| Colonial Rd. | Class 3 | 0.25 mi (one way) |
| Wakeman Pl. | Class 2 | 0.29 mi (one way) |
| 68th St. | Class 2 | 1 mi (one way) |
| 3rd Ave. | Class 2 | 0.15 mi (one way) |
| Colonial Rd. | Class 2 | 1.47 mi (one way) |
| Oliver St. | Class 2 | 0.03 mi (one way) |
| Shore Rd. | Class 2 | 2.71 mi (0.59 each way + 1.53 one way) |
| Ft Hamilton Pkwy | Class 2 | 0.66 mi (0.28 each way + 0.1 one way) |
| Leif Ericson Greenway | Class 1 | 1.1 mi (0.55 each way) |
| Owl’s Head Park Dog Run | Class 1 | 0.88 mi (0.44 each way) |
| Bay Ridge Promenade | Class 1 | 4.7 mi (2.35 each way) |
Proposed Lanes
| Route | Type | Mileage |
| Bay Ridge Pkwy | Class 3 | 1.12 mi (0.49 each way + 0.14 one way) |
| Bay Ridge Pkwy | Class 2 | 0.96 mi (0.41 each way + 0.14 one way) |
| 84th St. | Class 2 | 0.75 mi (one way) |
| 85th St. | Class 2 | 0.87 mi (one way) |
| 3rd Ave. | Class 2 | 2.83 mi (1.16 each way + 0.51 one way) |
| Ridge Blvd. | Class 2 | 1.56 mi (one way) |
| 7th Ave. | Class 2 | 0.23 mi (one way) |
| 7th Ave. | Class 1 | 1.26 mi (0.63 each way) |
Additional Reading
- Southern Brooklyn streets account for half of the cyclists killed this year (Brooklyn Daily Eagle – on recent cycling deaths)
- DOT to Bay Ridge: You Get Unsafe Bike Lanes Because We Don’t Want To Remove Parking (Streetsblog – on the Bike Network Expansion proposal)
- Bay Ridge Community Board Shows How It’s Done (Streetsblog – on the 7th Ave Protected Lane)
- Bay Ridge Supports Some Cycling Infrastructure – But Protected Bike Lanes Don’t Seem Likely (Streetsblog – on the Bike Network workshop)
- Bay Ridge’s Anti-Bike Cold War Starting To Melt (Steetsblog – on the meeting to approve a Bike Network workshop)
- Bay Ridge Community Board Presses DOT for Better East-West Bike Connections (Streetsblog – on the meeting that kicked off the proposal for a Bike Network workshop)