Cycling News
Bike Lanes Can Be Politically Expensive

Bicycle and pedestrian projects undertaken by city agencies require varying amounts of political backing from elected officials, community boards, neighborhood residents and businesses. When it comes to bike lanes, the DOT's finite political capital means that the agency must choose new lanes with care. Its priority should be to install bicycle lanes where they do the most to improve cycling conditions. More specifically, the DOT should focus on building well-designed lanes that connect major cycling routes, like bridges, busy off-street paths and existing lanes to each other and to the street grid. In short, when it comes to bike lanes, quality is more important than quantity. This means that the Mayor should not evaluate the DOT in its Mayor's Management Report-its report card for city agencies-based on the number of new miles of bike lanes the agency has striped.

A good example of a bike lane that is strategically-placed and politically-savvy is the Clinton Street bike lane in Brooklyn. The new lane, which the DOT striped in November 2002, is an excellent addition to the bike network because it connects Red Hook, Gowanus, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens to the Brooklyn Bridge. In addition, the community welcomed the lane, and there were no objections from City Council members de Blasio, Gonzalez or Yassky nor from Community Boards 2 or 6.

Compare the Clinton Street bike lane to the half-mile long lanes on Hering and Yates Avenues in the Morris Park section of the Bronx, which the DOT also striped in November 2002. The location of these new lanes is neither strategic nor politically savvy. They are close to the Pelham Bay Parkway Greenway but become dead ends; they do not connect to other parts of the bike network. Additionally, the lanes faced zealous opposition from City Council member Provenzano and Community Board 11, who together demanded that the DOT remove the lanes. In a January 14, 2003 statement, Commissioner Weinshall declared that, "DOT has no plans to remove the lanes." The DOT is right not to remove the lanes, but it should have been more strategic and politically savvy about the locations of the lanes.

Tell the DOT that you want bike lanes that connect bridges, greenways and existing bike lanes.

DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall
40 Worth Street
NYC 10013
www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildot.html 

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