By Paul Steely White

Welcome to the New Amsterdam Bike Show!

Biking is booming in our great city. And as you and I know, this is something to celebrate.  Bicycling makes our streets, our neighborhoods and our city more enjoyable.

Every year for the past five years, bicycling has enjoyed double-digit growth. From the continued expansion of our bike lane network to the agreement announced last fall that will allow for the completion of the East River Greenway, more New Yorkers than ever before are biking for transportation, fun and well-being. Like no other mode of getting around, biking has the power to knit us together and make us happier.

This bike boom is about to get a lot bigger. New York City will soon boast North America’s largest public bike share system, making bicycling as much a part of our city’s fabric as the crowded subway or the yellow cab. With 10,000 public bikes at hundreds of kiosks all over Manhattan and Brooklyn, more New Yorkers than ever before will discover all the joys and benefits of urban bicycling.

These thousands of new bikers will also discover how much work still needs to be done to make bicycling safer and more accessible to all New Yorkers.  By being part of the New Amsterdam Bike Show, you are joining Transportation Alternatives in our growing effort to win more bike lanes, better designed bike lanes and paths and better enforcement of reckless driving. And, by coming to the New Amsterdam Bike Show and supporting the advocacy, organizing and promotional efforts of Transportation Alternatives, you are making sure that the bike share system expands to every corner of the city.

Thank you for making this, the second annual New Amsterdam Bike Show, a celebration of all that bicycling has to offer our cities and ourselves.  Make some new friends, check out some great new exhibits and don’t forget to fill your tank before you bike into the city sunset.

Enjoy the show!

Paul Steely White is executive director of Transportation Alternatives, the beneficiary organization of the 2012 New Amsterdam Bicycle Show.

By Dan Rivoli

The city will take another shot at pitching a protected bike lane for Columbus Avenue this week.

Community Board 7 is slated to take up the proposal at its next full meeting June 1, three weeks after its transportation committee rejected the idea.

At that meeting, held May 11, Community Board 7’s West 87th Street office was packed with avid bicyclists, some clutching their helmets, some wearing them. Many donned neon pink and yellow stickers to show their support for the plan.

The city hopes to install a protected bike lane like this one on Columbus Avenue. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Yet the committee did not deliver enough votes to support a protected bike lane, which the full board had asked the Department of Transportation to design six months earlier.

The two committee chairs argued that constructing protected bicycle lanes for Columbus Avenue, between West 77th and 96th streets, would add congestion to an already crowded avenue and could snarl delivery trucks.

“If they wanted to do a trial, this wasn’t the place to do it,” said Dan Zweig, the transportation committee co-chair. “We feel they chose the most traffic intensive and heavily traveled place.”

Despite the presence of protected bicycle lane supporters at the meeting, Zweig said he felt that other members of the community were inadequately represented.

“We feel we need to hear from other parts of the public aside from bike riders and bike advocates,” he said.

Michael Auerbach, president of environmental group Upper Green Side, said he hopes that the bike lane plan is approved by the full board.

“You’d like to see a community board represent the majority of constituents. I don’t think that was the case there. But it was just it was committee vote,” Auerbach said. “What I’m hoping is that the voice of the majority is heard by the [full] community board.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said the plan will be presented to the full board without any changes. Department officials will answer board members’ questions and concerns in greater detail than before.

The board’s resolution last year asked the department to study bicycle lanes for both Columbus and Amsterdam avenues. The city picked this swath of Columbus Avenue to try out first because a lane of traffic may need to be removed from Amsterdam Avenue for the project to move forward.

The pilot program for Columbus Avenue would add a bike lane on the east side of the street next to the curb. Bicyclists would be separated from traffic by a 5-foot buffer zone and a “floating” parking lane. There would still be four lanes of moving traffic, but each lane would be cut to 10 feet from 12.

Bicycling enthusiasts dominated the committee meeting and implored members to support the plan. The Upper West Side has a few bicycle lanes, but they are painted on the street, which offers no protection from traffic. The city has installed protected bicycle lanes in Chelsea, Soho and Brooklyn.

“We all have to live together. We’re all pedestrians as well as cyclists,” said Grace Lichtenstein, a member of the public who attended the committee meeting. “I’ve been to the Ninth Avenue bike lane and it makes a huge difference for us and pedestrians.”

Clark Vaccaro, a 12-year-old student who lives on the Upper West Side, testified to the committee that traffic moves fast and motorists are impatient and honk their horns.

“The proposed cycle track will make it possible for me to ride to school without getting into conflicts with motorists,” Vaccaro said.

Even business owners, who tend to be opponents of protected bicycle lanes, attended the committee meeting in support of the design.

Joy Lewis, who manages Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer on Columbus Avenue between West 80th and 81st streets, said she had already spoken to her delivery truck drivers about the potential change. She believes a bicycle lane would be a boon for the store.

“A lot of businesses are so supportive knowing our traffic will increase,” Lewis said.

But the owner of Food City, Paul Berger, complained that a bicycle lane would interfere with his “all day” unloading of 5,000 to 6,000 cases of merchandise.

Robert Josman, a financial consultant, told department officials at the committee meeting that he believes bicyclists are constantly breaking traffic rules.

“The bikers do not follow them,” he said.

Yet the board’s transportation committee did not deliver enough votes to support a protected bike lane that members had asked the Department of Transportation to design six months ago.

The two committee chairs argued that adding protected bicycle lanes to Columbus Avenue, between West 77th and 96th streets, would add congestion to an already crowded avenue and could snarl delivery trucks.

“We do need protected bike lanes,” said committee co-chair Dan Zweig, according to the West Side Independent. “This is not the right place and time to do it.”

The board passed a resolution last year asking the department to study bicycle lanes for Columbus and Amsterdam avenues. The city picked this swath of Columbus Avenue because a lane of traffic may need to be removed on Amsterdam Avenue. This Columbus Avenue bicycle lane would be a pilot program.

The plan would add a bike lane on the east side of the street next to the curb. Bicyclists would be separated from traffic by a 5-foot buffer zone and a “floating” parking lane. There would still be four lanes of moving traffic, but each lane would be cut to 10 feet from 12.

Bicycling enthusiasts dominated the meeting and implored the committee to support the plan. The Upper West Side has a few bicycle lanes, but they are painted on the street, which offers no protection from traffic. The city has installed protected bicycle lanes in Chelsea, Soho and Brooklyn.

“We all have to live together. We’re all pedestrians as well as cyclists,” said Grace Lichtenstein. “I’ve been to the Ninth Avenue bike lane and it makes a huge difference for us and pedestrians.”

Clark Vaccaro, a 12-year-old student who lives on the Upper West Side, testified to the committee that traffic moves fast and motorists are impatient and honk their horns.

“The proposed cycle track will make it possible for me to ride to school without getting into conflicts with motorists,” Vaccaro said.

Even business owners, who tend to be opponents of protected bicycle lanes, attended the meeting in support of the design. Joy Lewis, who manages Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer on Columbus Avenue between West 80th and 81st streets, said she had already spoken to her delivery truck drivers about the potential change. She believes a bicycle lane would be a boon for the store.

“A lot of businesses are so supportive knowing our traffic will increase,” Lewis said.

But the owner of Food City, Paul Berger, complained that a bicycle lane would interfere with his “all day” unloading of 5,000 to 6,000 cases of merchandise.

Robert Josman, a financial consultant, told department officials that he believes bicyclists are constantly breaking traffic rules.

“The bikers do not follow them,” he said.

Michael Auerbach, president of environmental group Upper Green Side, said he hopes that the bike lane plan is approved by the full board.
“You’d like to see a community board represent the majority of constituents. I don’t think that was the case there. But it was just it was committee vote,” Auerbach said. “What I’m hoping is that the voice of the majority is heard by the [full] community board.”

Installation of a protected bicycle lane for Columbus Avenue is likely to start this summer and be completed in a matter of weeks. All together, the project may take as little as two months to finish.

Bicycling advocates have been pushing for Upper West Side bike lanes that are completely protected from automobile traffic, which is safer than lanes painted on the street. These lanes are said to be especially beneficial for seniors because the design cuts down on sidewalk bike riding.

Currently, bicyclists riding southbound through the Upper West Side must travel along the Hudson River Greenway for a protected route. The neighborhood only has one northbound bike lane, painted on Central Park West.

The Department of Transportation unveiled the first design for such a proposal at the May 11 meeting of Community Board 7’s transportation committee, nearly six months after the board backed the idea.

The department’s design would add a protected lane to Columbus Avenue, between West 77th and 96th streets. The bike lane would connect to four crosstown lanes, at West 91st and 90th streets, and West 78th and 77th streets.

“We wanted something to add that connection for southbound commuters,” said Hayes Lord, the department’s acting bicycle program coordinator.

Once installed, the lane would have bicyclists travel on the east side of the street, protected from automobile traffic by a 5-foot buffer and an 8-foot “floating” parking lane. There would still be three lanes of moving traffic, but each lane would be 2 feet smaller than the current arrangement, shrinking from 12 feet to 10 feet. Pedestrian refuges would be installed at wide, two-way cross streets, giving seniors a safe spot to rest while traversing the roadway.

“There was a groundswell of support for this issue, not only from cyclists, but from seniors, children and pedestrians,” said Lisa Sladkus, an organizer for Upper West Side Streets Renaissance Campaign, following an October 2009 Board 7 meeting. “It gives cyclists a very safe place to be and little incentive to be on the sidewalk.”

This would be the city’s sixth protected bicycle lane. In Manhattan, the department installed these lanes on Eighth and Ninth avenues in Chelsea, and on Grand Street in Soho. Police data show that the protected lanes cut down on pedestrian and cyclist injuries, the department says.

“It’s really a win-win situation for everybody,” Lord said. “And the community recognized that. And they are very much for supporting these kinds of facilities.”

The Columbus Avenue lane represents the first phase of a bike plan for the neighborhood. Board 7 has also asked for a northbound lane on Amsterdam Avenue. 

Duane sent a Feb. 9 letter to the department, signed by other West Side elected officials, asking for the plans to be sent to Community Board 7.

“The Department of Transportation’s outreach efforts and consultation has been excellent to date,” Duane said. “And there’s no reason to think releasing the proposal and subjecting it to final review would derail their proposal.”

These new bicycle lanes will drastically change the character of Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, between West 59th and 110th streets. Unlike the painted bicycle lanes that run through Central Park West and on West 77th and 78th streets, the new lanes will be physically separated from automobile traffic, possibly by a row of parked cars or a concrete barrier.

A bike lane like this is slated for Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, between West 59th and 110th streets. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Businesses that need street access for deliveries and cab drivers who need to pick up and drop off passengers usually complain when street space is taken away. But if the final plans are released early, Duane argued, stakeholders will be able to make suggestions and have these concerns addressed before the lanes are installed.

Duane is speaking from experience on this issue. When the city’s first protected bicycle lane was installed in the Chelsea part of Duane’s district, modifications were required.

“Some of the discussion and debate continues [in Chelsea],” Duane said. “Though I don’t expect zero controversy, I do think there will be a minimal amount of controversy if the Department of Transportation follows what we’ve asked for on the West Side.”

Scott Gastel, a spokesperson for Department of Transportation, said the department will consider the request as the plans for the protected bicycle lanes are developed.

Peter Arndtsen, district manager for the Columbus/Amsterdam Business Improvement District, said that the department has been responsive to community needs and has been inclusive of the stakeholders affected by a protected bicycle lane.

“There are some businesses that are excited about it. There are some that are very concerned with it and would be opposed to it if they couldn’t talk through some of their concerns,” Arndstsen said.

Wiley Norvell, spokesperson for Transportation Alternatives, said that the department has reached out to a broader group of community stakeholders in the Upper West Side since the Chelsea bicycle lane was installed. Norvell said he expects the department to release the plans to the community board.

“Generally speaking, there’s almost always a community board presentation and comment period that takes place on bike lane projects,” Norvell said. “The difference is at what stage they are presented.”