Bedford Would Lose 41 Parking Spots In New Protected Bike Lane Plan

BED-STUY, NY — Brooklyn drivers would lose more than 40 parking spots under the city's new plan to protect a bike lane and improve pedestrian infrastructure on Bedford Avenue.

The plan, dubbed by one critic as a "recipe for people to die," would cut eight parking spots between Dean and Pacific streets, 16 between Atlantic Avenue and Halsey Street, and an average of a space per block between Halsey Street and Flushing Avenue, according to city plans.

That's a total loss of 41 spaces in northern Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy.

Spokesperson Lauren Rennée told those who gathered for a presentation in Bed-Stuy Thursday evening that the cuts would mean a protected bike lane and pedestrian infrastructure on Bedford Avenue that could save lives.

Most of the removed parking spaces will improve pedestrian visibility provide space for pedestrian islands, according to a spokesperson for DOT.

“Bedford Avenue is a critical bike route [with] staggering safety issues,” said Rennée. “The crash data is quite sobering.”

The long-awaited protected bike lane — if approved, it would be Bed-Stuy's first — would run along Bedford Avenue from Dean Street to Flushing Avenue and add in new buffers in the form of parking spaces and barriers.

The city would also add two bike lanes to intersecting Jefferson and Hancock avenues.

At the meeting, Bed-Stuy drivers raised concerns about the impact such changes would have on small businesses and congestion.

Jefferson Avenue residents, pointing to their streets' high number of religious institutions, said they feared a new bike lane would only intensify already chaotic weekend traffic.

Tendai Watkins, a driver who lives on Fulton Street, worries small businesses will lose potential customers unable to find a place to park on Bedford Avenue.

"I know we all have to share and I'm happy to do so," Watkins said. "I just think this version is not the best."

But for cyclists, the bike lane is a big win on a stretch of road many said they avoid at all costs. They noted the neighborhoods included in and surrounding the project have low car ownership.

“This hyperfixation on appeasing concerns over parking and driver convenience prevents DOT from planning an intuitive, accessible bike network," said Corey Hannigan, a program manager with Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

"[It] strengthens the perception that driving is ‘normal’ [and] bikes are only fit for young adults."

Yet cyclists were not without concerns of their own.

The plan left bikers wanting more stable barriers, clearly painted lanes and consideration of more creative solutions, like changing traffic patterns to create bike and pedestrian-only roads.

“This isn’t building a better alternative to driving," said Hannigan. "The system needs to be connected, intuitive, and useful for all ages and abilities to attract a critical mass of new users.”

Both sides raised concerns about enforcement, specifically when it came to double parked cars, lingering delivery trucks and ebike riders who zip down the sidewalk.

Transportation department rep Leroy Branch's promise that he was working with the NYPD on better traffic enforcement was met with the suggestion the curbside rules be changed.

Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman encouraged the city not to move too fast or expect too much from infrastructural changes alone.

"I'm concerned," Zinerman said. "People don't know how to share the roads."

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