DOT Opens Greenpoint Ave Bridge Bike Lanes — Now With Flex-Posts

Cyclists, led by DOT Assistant Commissioner Ryan Russo, ride over the newly-completed Greenpoint Avenue Bridge bike lanes. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.
DOT Deputy Commissioner Ryan Russo leads the pack over the newly-completed Greenpoint Avenue Bridge bike lanes. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

DOT staff led a celebratory ride on the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge over Newtown Creek this morning to mark the completion of new bike lanes between Brooklyn and Queens.

The lanes provide safer passage on what had been a nerve-wracking crossing next to fast-moving traffic and lots of trucks. The project was first proposed in 2010 and revived earlier this year in a modified plan that called for curbside buffered bike lanes. Cyclists this morning discovered the final project has an extra bit of protection from traffic on the bridge: DOT has added plastic bollards to keep drivers out of the bikeway.

The plastic bollards continue even when the bike lane buffer disappears. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.
The plastic bollards continue where the buffer tapers away at the ends of the bridge. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

On the Brooklyn side, the bridge connects to reconfigured bike lanes on Greenpoint Avenue. On the Queens side, sharrows are being added as part of a separate project.

Now, attention shifts to the other bike project linking Brooklyn and Queens: the long-awaited Pulaski Bridge bikeway. The early stages of construction have begun on that project, which involves more heavy-duty roadwork than the Greenpoint Avenue bike lanes. It’s set to open by the end of this year.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Protected Bike Lanes Coming to Washington Heights After CB 12 Vote

|
Washington Heights will get protected bike lanes and major pedestrian upgrades after Manhattan Community Board 12 endorsed a DOT proposal last night. Sections of 170th Street, 158th Street, and Edgecombe Avenue will get protected bike lanes, and pedestrian crossings will be improved on Edgecombe Avenue and at the complex intersection of 158th Street, Riverside Drive, and Edward Morgan Place […]

Greenpoint Ave Bridge Plan Adds Bike Lanes With Fat Buffers

|
The proposed redesign for the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Queens. Image: NYCDOT Here’s a look at NYCDOT’s plan for the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge [PDF], which would give cyclists traveling between Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Sunnyside, Queens a safer and more comfortable ride by installing bike lanes with extra-wide buffers. The project recently got […]