On Friday, April 11 we were informed that DOT planned to install the proposed protected bike lane on Lafayette St. in three days!
This, in spite of a Community Board #2 resolution and a letter from Councilmember Chin detailing aspects, not addressed, that should be coordinated with the community and specifically with NoHo-Bowery Stakeholders. Well, so much for that !
West crossing over proposed bike lane. Pictured 4-16-14
Again, we are NOT opposed to a protected bike lane. What we are opposed to is the hasty installation without regard to the safety of bikers or pedestrians and the imposition that this lane-without-a-plan will impose on the merchants and businesses along Lafayette St.
We have previously posted a detailed map showing the active construction sites along this corridor, including the massive reconstruction at Astor Place that will require re-make of the bike lane multiple times over the next 24-36 months (show us the money)…and in the interim provide very little additional safety for bike riders. We have not even questioned the wisdom of a bike lane to nowhere. It ends on the west side of 12th St. where the only possible exit is east to a southbound Third Avenue or north, through an unprotected bike lane to 14th St. where there is no designated (or even possible) bike passage for blocks. It seems that neither DOT or Transportation Alternatives have any interest in safety, or any other factor that could make the vision of fuel-less transportation enjoyable or even practical.