Earlier this year, the NYC Department of Transportation changed Prospect Park West from three to two lanes of traffic and installed a separated two-way bike lane. The goal: to reduce speeding, to encourage and improve city biking and to increase pedestrian safety.
Needless to say, not everyone is hunky dory about the changes.
A group calling itself “Neighbors for a Better Bike Lane and Park Slope Residents for Safety” is planning a rally on Thursday, September 21 at 8:30 AM at Grand Army Plaza to protest the controversial bike lane that pits neighbors against neighbors in Park Slope.
The group distributed bright green flyers on Tuesday:
“UPSET ABOUT THE “NEW” PPW??
Afraid to stop or even open your car door?
Can’t park?
Difficulties crossing street?
“The danger, congestion and noise caused by the addition of the bike lanes must be stopped!!
You can make it happen! Join our protest to reverse this “trial!!!””
Park Slope Neighbors, a neighborhood advocacy group which initiated the campaign to create the bike lane, is having a counter rally 30 minutes earlier at 8AM.
Supporters say the bike lane is an enormous gift to the community because the sidewalk that runs along PPW is now mostly clear of bikes, where it was once crowded with bikers who were traveling toward the Green Market on Saturdays (the opposite direction of the traffic flow along PPW). Now bikers can use the lanes and the sidewalks are safer for kids and pedestrians in general.
Others disagree.
Opponents of the bike lane complain that they are inconvenienced because they have to look before they open their car doors after parking.
Others complain that they are endangered by bikes on the lane that do not observe traffic regulations. Some pedestrians complain that they are are terrified of being hit by speeding bikes, when crossing the street.
I have lived in Park Slope for 27 years and have walked and biked the neighborhood for that entire time. I absolutely oppose the new bike lanes. With Prospect Park a stone’s throw away, a dedicated two-way bike lane can be created in Prospect Park that will give bikers a safe alternative to riding on the sidewalk.
The presence of the bike lane has made crossing PPW a much more dangerous venture. Cyclists treat the bike lane like a speedway and do not yield to pedestrians crossing with the light. It is rare to see a car ignore a red light but I have never seen a cyclist obey a red light.
Parking in the “floating” lane is also dangerous.
When I questioned the leader of Park Slope Neighbors about the fact that cyclists do not abide by the law, I was told that enforcement was the answer. How many officers would have to be assigned to PPW full time to even begin to address the problem? The lane is also used sporadically. Today, during the competing rallies, there were many cyclists using the bike lane but I question how many of them use it regularly or live near Park Slope. I even saw cyclists who kept circling in order to make it appear that there was a great usage of the lane.
I hope the discussion can remain civil but am not hopeful.