Bike Lanes For Park Slope Should Be Sped Up, Councilman Says

PARK SLOPE, NY — Councilman Brad Lander and Community Board 6 called on the city to speed up the installation of protected bike lanes along a stretch of Fourth Avenue where construction wasn't expect to start until 2021, Streetsblog reported.

The councilman and the board's transportation committee urged the Department of Transportation to quicken the timeline to install the parking-protected lanes on Fourth Avenue between Eight and Dean streets at a meeting Thursday night, according to Streetsblog.

"We were told we would have this project soon, and not maybe in four years for most of our neighborhood," said Lander, according to Streetsblog.

The DOT's proposal calls to build a parking-protected bike lane along Fourth Avenue that would link Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Park Slope and Downtown Brooklyn. The plan also calls to remove about four parking spaces per block along the stretch and turn the parking lane into a driving lane from 38th Street to Prospect Avenue during rush hours, according to the DOT.

The city would use lower cost materials to build the lanes on 27 blocks near 38th Street in the spring, but the timeline is longer for the rest because they're waiting on the Department of Design and Construction's full reconstruction of Fourth Avenue, Streetsblog reported.

Only seven block of lanes would be added around Park Slope within the next three years and construction between Carroll Street and Atlantic Avenue wouldn't start until 2021.

The board's transportation committee unanimously approved the plan with a measure that the DOT quickens the pace of the project, according to Streetsblog. The full board will vote on it at their Jan. 20 meeting.

The proposal was already approved by Community Board 7's transportation committee last week. The full board was set to vote on it at their Wednesday night meeting, but members pushed it back until January when more could cast their vote on it.

Image: New York City Department of Transportation