This Week: Defend the Dyckman Street Protected Bike Lanes

The redesigned Dyckman has has made crossing the street safer but faces opposition from merchants and elected officials. CB 12 is hosting a public forum on the project on Tuesday. Photo: Brad Aaron
The redesigned Dyckman has has made crossing the street safer but faces opposition from merchants and elected officials. CB 12 is hosting a public forum on the project on Tuesday. Photo: Brad Aaron

DOT’s recent redesign of Dyckman Street was nearly a decade in the making, creating a crosstown bike connection linking Manhattan waterfront greenways to Inwood’s main street. But because double-parking on Dyckman isn’t as easy as it used to be, some local merchants are fighting the project, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Congressman Adriano Espaillat have called on DOT to tear the bike lanes out.

All street redesigns go through an adjustment period after they debut, but it’s unusual for politicians to so quickly abandon a projects. Tomorrow, Manhattan Community Board 12 will host a forum on the Dyckman Street protected bike lanes, and the redesign will need to be defended.

If you walk or bike on Dyckman and want to keep the new design, this public hearing is an important one to turn out for.

More info on the forum and other events below. Check the calendar for further details.

  • Tonight: The Manhattan CB 12 transportation committee meets. Dyckman Street is on the agenda but the main event is Tuesday. 530 West 166th Street, 6th Floor, Manhattan. 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday: Defend the Dyckman Street protected bike lanes at CB 12’s public hearing. Washington Heights Academy, 202 Sherman Avenue, between W. 204th and W. 207th streets. 6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday: DOT and MTA host a town hall on plans to prioritize buses, bicycling, and walking during the L train shutdown. 66 West 12th Street. 6:30 p.m. Doors at 5:30.
  • Also Wednesday: TransitCenter hosts a panel on the Center for Urban Future’s report detailing the slow and unreliable bus commutes of the city’s healthcare workforce. 1 Whitehall Street, 17th Floor. 6 p.m.
  • Saturday: Ride with Transportation Alternatives’ Upper Manhattan Committee to support the protected bike lane on Dyckman Street. Ride starts at the Manhattan side of the High Bridge. 10 a.m.

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

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After 8 Years, DOT Finally Has a Bike Plan for Dyckman St. CB 12: Not So Fast.

By David Meyer |
Eight years after uptown advocates first called for a bike connection across Inwood, linking greenways along the Hudson River and the Harlem River, DOT has a bike lane plan for Dyckman Street. Between Broadway and Nagle Avenue, the redesign would convert the current four-lane design into DOT’s standard road diet template — a general traffic lane and a five-foot-wide un-protected bike lane in […]