So the Department of Transportation says that the bike lane is a good thing—and they’ve got the stats to prove it while opponents of the bike lane accuse the DOT of trumping up the stats.
This is getting fun—or nasty—depending on your point of view.
Last Thursday, the New York City Department of Transportation yesterday released an updated study on the effects of the redesign of Prospect Park West. They found that crashes were down by more than 15% on Prospect Park West, while crashes with injuries were down more than 62%, and total injuries declined by more than 20%.
Even better: there were zero reported pedestrian injuries during the six months following the redesign, and no reported injuries from pedestrian-bicycle crashes. According to Eric McClure: “While the absolute numbers were relatively small, the trend is unmistakable – slowing cars down has reduced the incidence of crashes, and made the street safer.”
The DOT also has several enhancements in store: replacing the textured, at-grade pedestrian-refuge areas with raised, planted islands; installing low-profile “rumble strips” to alert cyclists when they’re nearing intersections; relocating signals for better visibility; and narrowing the buffer zone, with a corresponding widening of the vehicle travel lanes, at the north end of Prospect Park West, to facilitate the roadway transition from Grand Army Plaza. It’s clear that they’ve listened to community input, and acted accordingly.
According to the report, there was also a huge drop in speeding, and a big increase in cycling and to many this report supports the claim that the Prospect Park West project is a win win.
Not so fast…
Then there are the nay sayers. Borough President Marty Markowitz, who is one of its biggest opponents, questions the DOT stats saying that there must be an independent assessment of these changes because the DOT is too invested in the bike lane.
He told Park Slope Patch: “The DOT has to justify the Prospect Park West bike lane, so I question the validity of any data coming from the very agency that installed the lane.”
Markowitz believes that the bike lane disfigures majestic Prospect Park West and is problematic for drivers on PPW.
In June 2005 my new next door neighbor newlywed pro-bono lawyer Liz Padilla was killed on 5th Ave as she swerved her bike into traffic to avoid a trucker’s door swinging open. She was riding within the “suggested” bike lane. Rather than waste efforts (licensing) that discourage bikers, let’s be bold and promote 24/7 bike-only avenues. The bike lane along PPW has substantially decreased all types of accidents. The site of a few fixed gear anarchist bikers in black terrifies Marty Markowitz and some of his constituents. Yet the stats do not back up bike-haters positions. Image problem. Licensing is not the solution. Separating motor vehicles from bikes is, yet emulating European Social Democracies is seen as un-American! Biking is also good for the environment and a great way to stay healthy Marty! Fuggedabout it! A no-brainer. I propose we make the southbound lane on 6th Ave bike only. To placate drivers who will freak-out at losing precious parking spots, we could consider a community owned vehicle permit system and emulate Boston.
Don’t shoot the messenger, put the blame where it belongs: squarely on Marty’s shoulders. His overblown statements and retro thinking need to be known.
So if there had been, say, a couple more car accidents in this limited time, it would “prove” bike lanes are bad? Lost in this is the whole ridiculous assumption that we need to ‘justify’ a bike lane at all, as if it is not inherently a good use of public space. And we also need to acknowledge the secondary reason bike lanes are good on multi-lane streets: calming traffic. Now if they would only de-synchronize the traffic lights…
Disgraceful coverage. Giving Markowitz’s lies more attention than they deserve.