Hear About 4th Ave. Bike Lane From DOT Tuesday Night

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn cyclists (and grouchy drivers) will have a chance Tuesday night to hear from the Department of Transportation about a proposal to install a parking-protected bike lane on Fourth Avenue.

On Tuesday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m., the DOT will meet at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street, for a "design update workshop." It's the first of two workshops DOT will be holding on the bike lane, with the second happening in Sunset Park next week.

Patch has reached out to the DOT for more information on the workshops, and we'll update this post when we hear back. (For more Park Slope news, click here to sign up for Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts. Or click here to find your NYC neighborhood.)

SEE ALSO: 7th Ave. Bike Lane Painting To Begin This Month After Sunset Park Comes Around To Plan

The bike lanes would be separated from the main road by a 2.5-feet buffer zone and a parking lane, a bike lane design preferred by cycling advocates as opposed to lanes that run right alongside car traffic.

Fourth Avenue has "gotten a lot better from a safety standpoint since the initial work was done in about 2012," Eric McClure, a Park Slope cyclist and executive director of StreetsPAC, told Patch. "But as far as a place to bicycle, it’s pretty hairy even with the current configuration.

"There’s a significant amount of demand for a straight shot route from the southern parts of Brooklyn to downtown, and I think this Fourth Avenue plan will significantly address that."

Construction was supposed to begin this year on a different Fourth Avenue bike lane project that was approved back in 2011. But rapid development on the thoroughfare, along with some pedestrian safety improvements, made DOT change their minds about their plans for the street.

"During this time period, however, the street has become dramatically safer and more livable while the desire for better cycling infrastructure in New York has grown," the DOT said in its March press release announcing the protected bike lane. "Given the demand for safer bike routes, and the fact that street reconstruction would last for generations, DOT is asking the community to consider a new design."

The plan does not require community board approval, but the DOT will be pitching its plans to boards 2, 6 and 7 to get input and suggest changes.

Read more about the proposed bike lane here.

Image via Department of Transportation