7th Ave. Bike Lane Extension Doesn't Get Community Board Support

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — South Slope cyclists may have to wait a little longer to have their own riding space on Seventh Avenue.

A proposed bicycle lane extension that would run along Seventh Avenue from 15th Street to 23rd Street was not approved by Community Board 7 at its general meeting Wednesday night.

The proposed extension was part of a stretch of bike lane on Seventh Avenue that would start at Flatbush Avenue and run to 23rd Street, at Greenwood Cemetery.

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Community Board 6, which covers Seventh Avenue north of 15th Street, approved its stretch earlier this year. Community Board 7, whose district is on the other side of 15th Street and south, did not.

"There is subtle, covert attempts to put bike lanes in many places and keep it from being known. It serves no purpose. Biking in the city is allowed on all open roads," CB7 board member Tom Murphy, who voted no, said at the meeting.

"Somehow the people in Park Slope have come to the conclusion that they need a bike lane on Seventh Avenue to connect up with Dean Street. What purpose an extension south of 15th Street would do, I don’t know."

While 14 of CB7's members voted yes, seven voted no and nine abstained. Because the vote did not have a majority of no votes, the Department of Transportation could come back to the board with alterations, and the board could take up the proposal again, CB7 District Manager Jeremy Laufer told Patch.

For now, though, the plan does not have the community board's support.

The proposal would have created a dedicated bike lane between 15th and 20th streets, with a shared lane down to 23rd street. No parking spots would be lost.

You can view the entire proposal here.

Images via Department of Transportation