Another Prospect Park West-Style Bike Lane For Grand Army Plaza?

The city is not planning on putting a Prospect Park West-style two-way protected bike lane on Plaza Street anytime soon.

Although we , the stymied dream of many a cyclist was re-opened again this week, when city officials invited the press to view the they completed this fall and which failed to include the requested bike lane.

We double checked with city officials to see if anything has changed, and received the same vague-but-firm response as other news outlets from DOT spokesperson Seth Solomonow: “Considering the scope of the changes we were already making in Grand Army Plaza we didn't include changes to Plaza Street as part of this year's project. We will continue to work with the community on ways to improve bike access at this location.”

At a community meeting last spring, DOT officials said that they believed the two-way bike lane they just installed at the Prospect Park side of Grand Army Plaza would suffice to connect the Eastern Parkway and Prospect Park West bike lanes.

And Plaza street already has an unprotected one-way bike lane. (A protected bike lane is when it is put between the parked cars and the curb.

But cyclists say that on curvy Plaza Street a protected bike lane is crucial for safety reasons. And if you want to ride from PPW to Flatbush Avenue, it’s much quicker to cut through Plaza Street, which runs the wrong way, causing all but the most scrupulous biker to ride against traffic or on the sidewalk.

So what do you think? Should the city install a PPW-style bike lane on Plaza Street?