Bike Lane Connecting Central, Marcus Garvey Parks Coming In 2020

HARLEM, NY — A long-planned bike lane connecting Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park with the northern edge of Central Park will be installed this year, city transportation officials announced Wednesday.

The two-way protected bike lane will be built on Fifth Avenue between 110th and 120th streets, creating safe passage for cyclists to travel between the green spaces, Department of Transportation officials said. The city first proposed the plan in 2017.

Harlem's new bike lane will be part of a 10-mile expansion of Manhattan's protected bike lane network in 2020 as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Green Wave" bike safety initiative. In total, the city plans to create 30 miles of new protected bike lanes in the coming year. Exactly when the city will install the Harlem lane was not part of Wednesday's announcement.

Creating the new bike lane will require a complete redesign of Fifth Avenue, according to DOT presentations on the project.

The Fifth Avenue redesign will occur in two portions — both featuring a protected bike lane. The section of Fifth Avenue between 112th and 115th streets will feature perpendicular parking whereas the rest of the stretch will not. Both stretches will feature floating parking lanes protecting a two-way bike lane except at intersections with an added left turn lane. Left turn lanes will be installed on East 118th, 116th and 112th streets, according to the DOT plans.

The stretch of Fifth Avenue is currently unsafe due to an excess capacity for vehicles, wide travel lanes encouraging speeding, long pedestrian crossings and a lack of bike infrastructure, according to a DOT presentation.

"To build a 21st century city where New Yorkers can get around efficiently, safely, and sustainably it is critical that we have a citywide network of interconnected protected bike lanes," said Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement. "Far too many cyclists were lost to traffic violence last year, and we must do more to protect people on two wheels."