Midtown Set For Multiple New Bike Lanes In 2020, City Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — This year will be a busy one for new bike lane construction in Midtown Manhattan, city transportation officials announced Wednesday.

The New York City Department of Transportation committed to the extension of the Sixth Avenue bike lane from Herald Square to Central Park — fulfilling a request by bike advocates and local officials — and the creation of a pair of crosstown bike lanes, officials said during an update on Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Green Wave" bike safety plan.

Plans are also in motion to fill the remaining gaps in Manhattan's Second Avenue protected bike lane between East 42nd and 34th streets after necessary water main work is completed in the area. Filling the gap will result in the completion of a continuous five-mile bike lane on the southbound avenue.

Transportation officials did not reveal the location of the new crosstown lanes, saying that a study needs to be conducted to determine which pair of streets is most feasable.

"Protected bike lanes make our streets safer for all New Yorkers," Midtown City Councilmember Keith Powers said in a statement. "From Midtown, down 6th Avenue, over to the Greenway and, finally, with the full completion of the 2nd Avenue gap by the Queens Midtown Tunnel, these new protected bike lanes will ensure connectivity for cyclists and enact protections that will benefit everyone."

Powers called for the extension of the Sixth Avenue protected bike lane in January, describing the current conditions for bikers on the highly-congested avenue as chaotic. Advocates from Transportation Alternatives identified the avenue as a priority project.

The avenue becomes significantly unsafe for cyclists on 35th Street after navigating Herald Square, where cyclists are funneled from protected lanes to unprotected ones, Transportation Alternatives Manhattan organizer Chelsea Yamada said at the January press conference. At 42nd Street, the bike infrastructures cuts off completely.

The city built 21.4 miles of new protected bike lanes in 2019 and is planning to build 30 miles in the coming year, according to a DOT report released Wednesday.