New Protected Bike Lanes Coming To Hell's Kitchen

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The city will install new protected bike lanes and pedestrian islands along two Hell's Kitchen thoroughfares this month, aiming to improve safety on streets that are often clogged with cars.

A two-way bike lane protected by a concrete barrier will run on West 40th Street between 11th and 12th avenues, providing a long-awaited connection to the Hudson River Greenway: the busiest bike path in North America.

Meanwhile, a north-south bike lane will be implemented on 11th Avenue between West 38th and 42nd streets — protected by concrete in some places, plastic bollards in others, and simple markings on the northernmost block.

Community Board 4 praised the plan in a draft letter, thanking the Department of Transportation for adding better barriers, as members had previously requested — though they asked that the marked lanes be upgraded to full protection.

This #Biketober, NYC DOT will begin implementing midtown crosstown protected #BikeNYC lanes on 11th Ave (W 38th-W 42nd Sts) & W 40th St (11th-12th Aves). This work will:
🌳Add greenway connections
🚲Install protected bike lanes
🚗Improve traffic flow
🚶‍♂️Install pedestrian islands pic.twitter.com/p8hsjDtREZ
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) October 1, 2021

Board members also raised separate concerns in their letter to DOT, asking the agency to prevent drivers from using the 11th Avenue bike lane from 42nd to 51st streets to bypass traffic.

"It is urgent that installed protections make it difficult for drivers to enter the bike lane," the board wrote.

The new Hell's Kitchen lanes are part of a project by the Department of Transportation to create a full network of crosstown bike lanes, running along 38th and 39th streets between 11th Avenue and First Avenue on the East Side.

Other street improvements underway in the neighborhood include the blocks-long upgrades to Eifullghth Avenue in the 30s, which will add wider sidewalks and safety signals to a thoroughfare that runs past Moynihan Train Hall and Madison Square Garden.