Community Corner
'Amity Wiggle': DOT Proposes New Solution To Cobble Hill Bike Traffic Issue (UPDATED)
The proposal will go before the full community board meeting on March 6.
COBBLE HILLL, NY — The Department of Transportation presented a new solution Thursday night to the "Amity Wiggle" — a convenient, but illegal, maneuver Cobble Hill cyclists have to make to get through an awkward intersection in the neighborhood.
Currently, cyclists going East on Amity St. wishing to cross Court St. have to briefly go up against the one-way street to get over to Dean St. and continue East.
This popular up-and-over eventually got its own nickname. Proponents of the movement even started a "Friends of the Amity St. Wiggle" Facebook group.
Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
For more about Cobble Hill traffic flow and other neighborhood news, click here to subscribe to Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts.
The DOT is trying yet again to make things more clear — and legal.
Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Preston Johnson, a project manager at the DOT's Bicycle Program, presented a solution to Community Board 6's Transportation/Pubic Safety Committee on Thursday night.
The proposal adds a designated bike lane on Amity St., starting at Henry St. that would run up to Court St. At Court St., signage would signal that bikes could make a brief left turn, but cars could not. It would also note that pedestrians have the right of way over cyclists trying to cross over to go North.
Another crosswalk would be added on the North side of Dean St. for more pedestrian options.
However, cyclists would still have to cross over pedestrian traffic, a no-go for some in the community, including Michael Epstein, the first vice president of the Cobble Hill Association.
"I'm a bicyclist who is a father and cares about pedestrian safety and bicycle safety," Epstein, who spoke up to oppose the proposal during the meeting, told Patch. "I think the solution presented is inadequate to meet the solutions of both."
The proposal was voted a tie at the committee and will be presented before the entire community board on Wednesday, March 8.
Image: a cyclist performs the "Amity Wiggle"; by Marc Torrence, Patch Staff
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.