Call for Safer Cycling Lanes Between Brooklyn Bridge and Hudson Bike Path

Biking advocates want protected bike lanes on Chambers Street because, they say, it is the best route between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Hudson River Greenway. Many cyclists choose Chambers Street even though it has no bike lane. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib 

Cycling advocates and Community Board 1 are calling for a safer, more sensible bike route between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Hudson River bikeway.

This month CB1 passed a resolution calling on the city’s Department of Transportation to “study, design and install” eastbound and westbound bike lanes, protected by raised barriers, to link those two major points of travel for cyclists. The current nearest bike lanes, on westbound Reade and Murray streets, and on eastbound Warren Street, are unprotected and frequently blocked by vehicles, the advocates say. In addition, cyclists riding through City Hall Park, which is part of the current east-bound route to Centre Street near the bridge, are often in a mix with pedestrians. 

So where to put those proposed protected bike lanes?

This month, volunteers representing Transportation Alternatives, the cycling advocacy group, came to Community Board 1 to request support for bike-only lanes on Chambers Street, the most direct route between Centre Street at the bridge and the bike path along the Hudson River Greenway, called by CB1 the busiest bike route in the U.S.

“The unofficial route that people choose to take is on Chambers Street and it has no bike lane at all,” said Aruni Ranaweera, a Transportation Alternatives volunteer. “We’re advocating for a protected bike lane on Chambers Street. A physical barricade from vehicular traffic, not just paint.” 

“Chambers makes the perfect sense from most cyclists’ point of view,” added fellow advocate Ed Ravin.

It makes sense, too, they said, because cyclists are already using Chambers Street, at risk to their lives. The city’s marked, less direct west-bound bike route on Reade Street not only lacks a protective barrier, they said, but it also ends with a “very dangerous” left turn onto “a wide open and busy Greenwich Street.”

“Cyclists use [Chambers Street] with or without a bike lane,” said Committee Chair Betty Kay. “It’s a matter of how safe are we going to allow them to be, and how much you’re going to say, ‘No, you don’t own a car, you’re not allowed to go on that route.’” 

But Chambers Street is hardly a clear-cut solution either, and the thought of narrowing the already narrow and often clogged roadway sparked disagreements among committee members. While they all said they supported a safer passage somewhere between the east and west points, they were at odds over whether to name Chambers as the street of choice. 

“I wish Chambers Street was wider so there could be a protected bike lane but …it would be a nightmare,” said committee member Mitch Frohman, “so I would be against it.”

Traffic is often backed up on the Manhattan-bound lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge before feeding onto Centre then Chambers Street, and that’s due to an already jammed Chambers Street, said Eric Yu. “It would only get worse if you make [a bike lane] on Chambers Street.”

Transportation Alternatives’ Ranaweera acknowledged that “there’s not much room for anything else” on Chambers. So a solution, she said, will require further study. “We would leave that to the DOT.”

The committee, and later the full board, ultimately chose not to endorse a street in its call for action by the DOT.

Responding to questions about CB1 and Transportation Alternatives’ requests, DOT spokesman Vin Barone said in a brief email statement that the agency is proud of its bike-friendly additions to the area, such as a dedicated bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge and ongoing safety measures at Centre and Lafayette streets, “and will continue to explore new, improved connections.” 

Comments? Write to carlg@tribecatrib.com.