Will one holdout community board delay the first crosstown protected bike lanes in Midtown?

NYC DOT’s plan for crosstown protected bike lanes on 26th and 29th streets addresses an urgent need. Bus drivers killed two people on those streets last year, and just a few days ago a cyclist was doored and then struck by a truck driver on 29th Street.

Community Board 4 voted 39-1 for the project last week, and Community Board 6 endorsed it 28-4 last night.

That leaves Community Board 5, where the transportation committee tabled a vote earlier this month after running out of time during a packed meeting. But according to the CB 5 website, the project isn’t on the agenda for March or April either.

A CB 5 staffer couldn’t say over the phone whether the agendas will be updated to include the project.

Dan Hanegby and Michael Mamoukakis lost their lives biking on 26th Street and 29th Street last year. That spurred DOT to create a plan for Midtown’s first crosstown protected routes. The agency has given a spring/summer timetable for implementation, if it gets the community board votes.

Of course, DOT doesn’t need CB 5’s approval to redesign a street, and it now has resounding endorsements from a majority of community boards along the route. To let one holdout torpedo the project would be going against the wishes of the two other community boards representing Midtown.