This Week: Flip the Fifth Avenue Bike Lane

The DOT plan for a protected bike lane on 15 blocks of Fifth Avenue. Image: DOT
The DOT plan for a protected bike lane on 15 blocks of Fifth Avenue. Image: DOT

Tonight DOT will present the plan for a Fifth Avenue protected bike lane to the Manhattan CB 5 transportation committee.

The project, which would cover the 15 blocks between 23rd Street and Eighth Street, was endorsed by the CB 2 transportation committee earlier this month.

More than 17,000 people have signed Transportation Alternatives’ petition to “flip Fifth,” and community boards 2, 4, and 5 previously backed a DOT study to improve the current painted lane, which is often blocked by illegally parked motorists.

Streetsblog calendar highlights below. Check the full calendar for more info on these and other events.

  • Today: The Manhattan CB 5 transportation committee will hear from DOT about the Fifth Avenue bikeway. Bryant Park Corporation, 111 W. 40th Street, #2400. 6 p.m.
  • Tuesday: The City Council transportation committee holds a preliminary hearing on the mayor’s 2017-2018 transportation budget. Topics will include Citi Bike expansion and half-price MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. Council Chambers, City Hall. 10 a.m.
  • Tuesday: DOT will present Brooklyn CB 9 with a plan for safety improvements, including painted bike lanes and crosswalk upgrades, on Franklin Avenue from Eastern Parkway to Empire Boulevard [PDF]. MS 61 Auditorium, 400 Empire Boulevard. 7 p.m. Call 718-778-9279 by noon Tuesday to register to speak.

Watch the calendar for updates. Drop us a line if you have an event we should know about.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

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

By Streetsblog |
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.