On Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an opening of a new two-way protected bike lane on Manhattan’s Lower East Side along Delancey Street. The bike lane will provide a safer option for bicycle commuters who are traveling to and from the Williamsburg Bridge.
The bridge that’s already crowded with cyclist during rush hours, is going to play a central role during the L train shutdown since a half of the L train riders are expected to travel daily over the bridge.
“We are doing critical work now to help mitigate New Yorkers’ pain during the L train repairs,” said Mayor de Blasio in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming thousands of daily cyclists to the new protected bike lane down Delancey Street, which will be a key link in our transportation network when the L train tunnel shuts down.”
Safer connections to and from Manhattan
The new bike lane is expected to make safer and more seamless connections to and from most of Manhattan by connecting the Williamsburg Bridge bike path with the Allen Street/1st Avenue/Pike Street lanes and the Chrystie Street/2nd Avenue protected lanes.
“Increasing access for cyclists will help make the Williamsburg Bridge a showpiece for how we can and will keep New Yorkers moving during next year’s challenging shutdown,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement.
Between 2012 and 2016, Delancey Street saw 24 serious traffic injuries and two fatalities, both pedestrians. Delancey Street has for long been a focus of Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative aimed to prevent traffic deaths and injuries, where protected bike lanes have proven to reduce crashes and increase street safety for all street users.
“Delancey Street serves as the bridge’s front door, and the new bike lane there will play an outsized role as a vital connector for thousands of new bicycle commuters, joining more than 100,000 new daily train and bus commuters on the bridge when the L train tunnel closes,“ Trottenberg said.
