Redesign Would Turn Atlantic Ave To NYC's 1st 'Bike Superhighway'

BROOKLYN, NY — Picture it: The center median on Brooklyn's dangerous Atlantic Avenue transformed to a first-of-its-kind "bike superhighway." Newly-designed intersections cut crashes between cars and cyclists nearly in half, while lanes once filled with traffic add space to a nearby park.

All of these changes are part of a new proposal unveiled Wednesday to redesign Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue, along with four other thoroughfares around the five boroughs that currently leave little room for pedestrians, cyclists — and pretty much anything that isn't a car.

The plan was put together by Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group working to "reclaim New York City's streets from cars," and the transportation company Via. Though they have no formal political backing yet, the proposals are being rolled out just before a new mayor and City Council take office in January, with the power to implement many of the ideas.

In Brooklyn, the proposal would include the city's first foray into protected intersections and a "bike superhighway," or a protected center lane that offers cyclists uninterrupted access up and down the thoroughfare.

Cutting Crashes In Half

Transportation advocates proposing the innovative cycling infrastructure on Atlantic pointed to the overwhelming majority of cyclist fatalities and serious injuries that plague the roadway's intersections.

At Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic alone, there have been 75 injuries reported in the last five years, making it in the top 20 percent of the city's most dangerous intersections, according to TransAlt.

The corridor is also dangerous for pedestrians. Overall, there were 10 fatal crashes on Atlantic Avenue this year, according to TransAlt.

“I avoid Atlantic at all costs," one New Yorker told the organization.

The fully protected intersection design — which separates cyclists from turning vehicles — would reduce the probability of vehicle-bicycle crashes by 45 percent, TransAlt said.

Returning Roads To People

The proposal also imagines taking certain portions of the corridor to create more pedestrian space.

On Atlantic Avenue today, more than 80 percent of the public space is dedicated to moving or storing vehicles. The 117-foot-wide roadway includes no room for buses or cyclists and dedicates only 18 percent for pedestrians, according to TransAlt.

“With six travel lanes, two parking lanes, one turning lane, and a very narrow median on the east mean there is often not enough time to cross safely," one commenter, David H., said in the report.

The redesign would change this by closing a slip lane at Flatbush Avenue and adding a two-way cycle track, half an acre of public space and a transit priority lane for buses.

"A two-way cycle track adds much-needed access for the numerous Citi Bike stations already sited here, and secure bike storage lowers the barrier for people to ride their own bicycles to the subway," the advocates wrote.

TransAlt noted that the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station is one of the busiest in New York with 44,000 daily riders, nearly all of whom walk to the station.

Much-Needed Green Space

Creating more public space is also at the center of Transportation Alternative's plan for Lowry Triangle, which sits between Underhill and Washington avenues.

The redesign would simplify the Lowry Triangle intersection, expand and reconnect the park, and create space for greenery, which TransAlt says will "absorb and minimize pollutants, noise, floodwater, and summer heat."

They point out that asthma hospitalizations in the Atlantic Avenue-area are two times higher than the citywide average and that a lack of permeable surfaces leads to dramatic flooding, including more than 12 inches of water during Hurricane Ida.

"The community boards here rate high on the Climate Change Vulnerability Index, due to high surface temperatures and low tree coverage, street cleanliness, and access to green space," TransAlt writes.

The proposals for all five thoroughfares in New York City are part of Transportation Alternatives' "25x25" initiative, which pushes city officials to reallocate 25 percent of the city's streets away from private cars by 2025, in favor of "space for people."

Read through the Atlantic Avenue proposal here, view an interactive version here, and view public comments here.

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.