Eyes on the Street: The Emergent Sixth Avenue Bikeway

Work has started on the Sixth Avenue bikeway. The pic in the above tweet is at Sixth and 18th Street. The photo below, sent to us by a reader, was taken at 16th Street.

Sixth Avenue is one of the most biked streets in the city but until now cyclists have had to make do with a narrow painted bike lane next to heavy motor vehicle traffic. DOT revealed its plan for phase one of the Sixth Avenue bikeway in late 2015, after years of advocacy led by Transportation Alternatives.

In January DOT announced that phase one would extend between Eighth Street and 33rd Street, six blocks longer than the original plan to begin the redesign at 14th Street. The revised plan also included some concrete pedestrian islands, which were not a feature of the original proposal.

DOT has said it may extend the lane south to Canal Street next year, with a northward expansion to follow at an undetermined date.

6thbikeway2
Photo: Jason Fertel

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

DOT and Citi Bike Celebrate Sixth Avenue Bikeway and #WomenWhoBike

|
DOT and Citi Bike marked the return of a protected bike lane to Sixth Avenue today with a ribbon-cutting and celebratory ride. The event also served to highlight Women’s Bike Month and a Motivate campaign to encourage women in NYC to ride bikes. The new Sixth Avenue bikeway runs from Eighth Street to 33rd Street, the same street where […]
Fifth Avenue is the most heavily cycled southbound avenue in Manhattan, even though it doesn’t have a protected bikeway. Image: Google Maps

This Week: See the DOT Fifth Avenue Bikeway Plan

|
On Thursday, DOT will reveal its plan for a protected bike lane on Fifth Avenue. Fifth gets more bike traffic than any other southbound avenue in Manhattan, according to DOT bike counts, and New Yorkers have been asking the city to make it a complete street for years. DOT committed to studying a redesign in 2014.

Eyes on the Street: Vernon Boulevard Bikeway Upgrade

|
Buffered bike lanes on Vernon Boulevard in western Queens are getting upgraded to a buffered two-way bikeway. Gil Lopez was near Hallet’s Cove this morning when he snapped a photo of DOT crews installing the bike lane, which when complete will include flexible posts to keep out car traffic. The two-way lane will run from […]

Eyes on the Street: Protection for Cyclists on Bruckner Boulevard

|
DOT crews were out on Bruckner Boulevard yesterday putting in Jersey barriers to protect a new two-way bike lane. The bikeway will run for half a mile between Hunts Point Avenue and Longwood Avenue, the first phase in what should eventually be a link between the Bronx River Greenway and Randall’s Island. For the time being, it will terminate […]