The New York City Department of Transportation announced on Sept. 10 that it will begin construction of a protected bike lane in the Bed-Stuy area of Brooklyn.
This decision comes after reports of accidents in the high traffic area continue to rise.
“Stretching more than 10 miles from Sheepshead Bay to Williamsburg, Bedford Avenue is the borough’s longest street. The new 1.5-mile bike lane is just one of several that the city will install across the five boroughs to beef up protection for bikers,” according to The Gothamist.
In the past, the area was considered highly unsafe and impractical for cyclists to commute. As a result, locals of the area have unanimously agreed that construction of a protected bike lane will add more structure and cause the area to experience fewer accidents.
The future of bike culture expansion and prosperity in NYC stays a topic of debate for many.
“In Queens, there are cyclists who clamored for the new bike lanes as a matter of safety, and there are residents who resent the lanes because they replaced parking spaces in front of their houses,” according to The New York Times.
Anti-bike lane residents in Queens went on to put red “No Bike Lanes” signs on lawns in front of their houses to show opposition. Specific areas in Queens and Brooklyn such as Bayside and South Williamsburg continue to show unpopularity regarding such developments.
Similarly, in South Williamsburg, where a substantial portion of the population is Jewish, the Orthodox Jewish leaders have positioned themselves against installing new bike infrastructure so as not to attract more bike riders near the area.
“These bike lanes have been imposed – and thrown – at us. Nobody has asked anybody about their feelings or if it is the right place,” a local from South Williamsburg said in an interview with The Gothamist.
The future of bike infrastructure in areas where locals continue to vote against it is still uncertain.
In areas like Bed-Stuy however, that are for the addition of bike lanes and bike culture, locals can continue speaking out for further developments.
