Tonight: Speak Up for Safe Crosstown Bike Lanes at Manhattan CB 6

DOT plans to add a five-foot protected bike lane with a two-foot buffer on most blocks of 26th and 29th streets. Image: DOT
DOT plans to add a five-foot protected bike lane with a two-foot buffer on most blocks of 26th and 29th streets. Image: DOT

Tonight DOT will present plans for protected crosstown bike lanes on 26th and 29th streets to the Manhattan CB 6 Transportation Committee.

In the DOT redesign, most blocks between First Avenue and 12th Avenue would get parking-protected bike lanes [PDF]. The project would set an important precedent as the first of three crosstown protected bike routes the city is planning to implement on busy Midtown streets.

There’s clearly an urgent need for safer crosstown bike infrastructure. Last June, tour bus drivers killed Dan Hanegby and Michael Mamoukakis on 26th and 29th, respectively, in separate crashes just a few days apart.

The CB 6 meeting tonight could be especially significant. The CB 4 transportation committee endorsed DOT’s plan last month, while the CB 5 transportation committee waffled in the face of a parking-über-alles NIMBY contingent. If you want safer crosstown bicycling routes before someone else gets hurt, you can speak up tonight for this protected bike lane project — details below.

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

  • Tonight: The Manhattan CB 6 transportation committee takes up crosstown bike lanes on 26th and 29th streets. Also on the agenda: DOT and the MTA will present L train shutdown plans. NYU School of Dentistry, 33 First Avenue, Room 220. 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday: TransitCenter hosts a panel on MTA construction costs, featuring New York Times reporter Brian Rosenthal and the Manhattan Institute’s Nicole Gelinas. 1 Whitehall Street. 6 p.m. The event has filled up but will be livestreamed via Periscope.
  • Also Tuesday: DOT will present an update on the fourth phase of the Grand Concourse redesign to the Bronx Community Board 5 municipal services committee. The Davidson Community Center, 2038 Davidson Avenue. 6 p.m.

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

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