Streetfilms: Car-Free Bedford Avenue

Emil Kozerawski is still working on the idea of making Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s "Main Street" into a car-free pedestrian boulevard. Now Car-Free Bedford Avenue has its own Streetfilms-style video on YouTube. Speaking of which, don’t forget to tag those YouTube videos "Streetsblog" to ensure that we get a hold of them.

I love the vision and ambition of this project. It is worth noting, however, that this is the same Bedford Avenue where the community has been waiting for two years for the city to replace one or two on-street car parking spaces with bike racks near the heavily-used L train subway stop. At least once a year the NYPD will come and saw off the locks of all the park-n-ride commuter bikes tied to street furniture around the subway station. 

While we wait for a Car-Free Bedford to materialize, improving the bike parking situation around the Bedford Avenue L station would be a cheap, easy way for DOT to show off its new commitment to Livable Streets. There isn’t even any community resistance here. The local Community Board has approved on-street bike parking at Bedford. Everyone is ready to go. Until then…

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Williamsburg Walks: Opening Up Bedford Avenue

|
Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg Brooklyn was de-motorized and opened to the public this Saturday for a new event called Williamsburg Walks. Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson was there and he’s already churned out a nice three-and-a-half minute video to give you a sense of the event. If you want to check out Williamsburg Walks for yourself, you […]

An NYC First: On-Street Parking Spaces Replaced by Bike Racks

|
The new bike racks have been installed at the Bedford Avenue L subway station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As the Dept. of Transportation announces in today’s press release, "The facility marks the first time car parking spaces have been removed to accommodate bicycle parking in New York City." DOT extended a 76-foot section of the sidewalk […]

Guerrilla Stripers Paint Back Bedford Avenue Bike Lane

|
Looks like some New Yorkers who bike on Bedford Avenue decided not to sit idly by after the city removed 14 blocks of bike lane in South Williamsburg. Multiple sources informed Streetsblog this morning that DIY, unofficial bike lane striping has appeared along the stretch of Bedford Avenue that was sandblasted last week. We don’t […]

StreetFilm: Trading Car Parking for Bike Racks

|
Trading Car Parking for Bike RacksA StreetFilm by Clarence EckersonRunning Time: 3 minutes 30 seconds In a historic first for New York City, the Department of Transportation has removed on-street car parking spaces in favor of bike racks. This revolutionary development took place near the Bedford Avenue subway station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Streetsblog has been […]