This Week: Protected Bike Lane By Van Cortlandt Park, Fair Fares, Remembering Gelacio Reyes

There's no reason for Broadway next to Van Cortlandt Park to be so wide. Image: Google Maps
There's no reason for Broadway next to Van Cortlandt Park to be so wide. Image: Google Maps

Streets alongside parks are low-hanging fruit for protected bike lanes because the scarcity of intersections reduces potential conflicts between cyclists and drivers. And when that street is wide, prone to speeding, and blocks safe access to the park, the traffic-calming benefits of a protected bike lane are all the more necessary.

That’s why streets like Prospect Park West in Park Slope and 111th Street in Corona made so much sense for protected bike lanes. The same conditions apply to Broadway in the northwest Bronx, where it borders Van Cortlandt Park.

Tomorrow, DOT will present a plan to add a protected bike lane to that stretch of Broadway, from 240th Street to the city line.

Here are this week’s highlights. Check the full calendar for more info on these and other events.

  • Monday: Manhattan Community Board 5’s transportation committee will hear DOT’s plan for a protected bike lane 7th Avenue — four blocks of the project are in CB 5’s Midtown turf. Bryant Park Corporation, 111 West 40th Street, #2400 at 6 p.m.
  • Tuesday: Join the Riders Alliance to rally on the steps of City Hall for discount MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. 12:45 p.m. — RSVP here.
  • Also Tuesday: DOT presents the bike-share expansion map planned for Brooklyn Community Board 8. Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation, 727 Classon Avenue, at 7 p.m.
  • More Tuesday: Bronx CB 8 gets a look at DOT’s plan for a protected bike lane on Broadway along Van Cortlandt Park. Kelly Ryans Restaurant, 5790 Mosholu Avenue, at 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday: Members of TransAlt and Ciclistas Latinoamericanos de New York will remember Gelacio Reyes, who was struck and killed by a drunk driver on April 1, by riding his route home and installing a white “ghost” bike in his honor at the site where he lost his life. The ride starts at 10 a.m. at Oaxaca Taqueria, 1198 1st Avenue, in Manhattan — more details on Facebook.

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

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG