Busy South Slope Block Getting Newly Protected Bike Lane

BROOKLYN, NY — A busy South Slope block will be among a groups of streets to get extra-protected bike lanes as part of a major, citywide street-safety investment, the mayor announced Saturday, making good on earlier Department of Transportation promises in the neighborhood.

A stretch of 20th Street bordering Green-Wood Cemetery from Seventh to 10th avenues will be outfitted with hardened bike lane barriers later this year, along with four other streets around the five boroughs.

These upgrades form part of a $904 million pledge that Adams announced on Earth Day to expand bike lanes, busways and pedestrian plazas over the next five years.

In South Slope, the bike lane also makes good on an already-promised plan to improve traffic and safety conditions in the blocks surrounding the north side of Green-Wood Cemetery.

At the end of last year, the DOT rolled out a series of traffic upgrades in South Slope, including as-yet-undefined bike boulevards and other features aimed at making it easier for cyclists and pedestrians to use the road.

As proposed, the plan included a two-way "shared use path" for pedestrians and cyclists on 20th Street between Seventh and 10th avenues — the same area where hardened barriers are now slated for installation.

The existing South Slope plan also includes a protected two-way lane on 10th Avenue between 19th and 20th streets and a conventional bike lane on 19th Street from 10th to 11th avenues plus other design features, like changing the flow of traffic and adding mini roundabouts — upgrades that are already partially underway.

On 20th Street, for instance, the bike path plan required making the road a one-way street, which is now in effect.

That change came after transportation officials found that most traffic on the street was heading west, towards the Prospect Expressway onramps, and that the two-way design caused frequent side-swipes.

When it comes to the forthcoming hardened bike lane, the city didn't specify what materials would make it extra-protected, but presumably the barriers will resemble concrete barriers that the city has already installed on a handful of other streets this year.

Advocates say the upgrades are badly needed: 59 people were killed on the city's streets during the first three months of 2022 — a 44 percent spike compared to last year, and the worst start to any year since the city's Vision Zero safety effort began in 2014, according to a recent report.

The city's nearly $1 billion investment also aims to advance the goals of the Streets Master Plan: a law passed in 2019 that requires the city to spend the next decade designing non-car-centric uses for the city's thoroughfares.

The announcement came one day after the city announced 150 streets participating in this season's Open Streets program, including the return of a beloved Park Slope Open Street.

Patch editor Nick Garber contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• Mayor Eric Adams Announces More Than $900 Million To NYC Streets Plan
• 'Bike Boulevard,' New Traffic Pattern Headed To South Slope