New 4th Ave. Bike Lane Would Run From Boerum Hill To Sunset Park

FOURTH AVENUE, BROOKLYN — The Department of Transportation wants to move forward with a plan to install a protected bike lane on Fourth Avenue that would stretch from Boerum Hill to Sunset Park, giving cyclists a safe way to pedal down one of Brooklyn's busiest streets.

The plan would install five-feet-wide bike lanes on both sides of Fourth Avenue, protected from car traffic by a 2.5-feet buffer and a parking lane, from Dean Street all the way down to 65th Street, running through Gowanus and Park Slope in the process.

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

You can see the suggest plan for Fourth Avenue below:

Construction was set to begin this year on Fourth Avenue on a different plan approved by community boards back in 2011.

"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 a press release. "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 DOT has also made small changes to Fourth Avenue since that time, modifying signal timing, lowering the speed limit and banning some left turns. Serious crashes involving pedestrians have decreased during that time by as much as 68 percent, the DOT said.

“The chance to redesign one of New York City’s ‘Great Streets’ may only come about every fifty years, and so it’s critical we get it right,” DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in the press release. “The dramatic surge in cycling, combined with safety changes that have dramatically improved Fourth Avenue’s safety and livability, have simply transformed the way Brooklynites see this street. Before we undertake construction that will transform the corridor for decades, we look forward to engaging with elected officials, neighborhoods, and community boards to consider changes to our original plans.”

Read more about the proposed bike lane here.