Busy Upper East Side Block Getting Newly Protected Bike Lane

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A busy Upper East Side block will be among the next group of streets to get extra-protected bike lanes as part of a major street-safety investment by the city, Mayor Eric Adams announced Saturday.

East 60th Street between First and York avenues will be outfitted with hardened bike-lane barriers later this year, along with four other streets around the five boroughs. The upgrades form part of a $904 million pledge that Adams announced on Earth Day to expand bike lanes, busways and pedestrian plazas over the next five years.

The 60th Street block sees heavy use among cyclists heading to and from the Queensboro Bridge. It already has a two-way bike lane installed last year that is nominally "protected" from car traffic by painted lines, but their effectiveness is limited: Google Maps images captured multiple trucks stalled in the bike lane within feet of each other last August.

The city didn't specify what materials would be used to harden the bike lane, but presumably they will resemble the concrete barriers that the city began installing on a handful of other streets this year.

"This investment is a game-changer," Adams said in a statement. "Too many New Yorkers have lost their lives to the traffic violence crisis, and we are seeing cities across the country struggle just like us, but this historic investment will allow New Yorkers to walk and cycle around our city without fear."

Advocates say the upgrades are badly needed: 59 people were killed on the city's streets during the first three months of 2022 — a 44 percent spike compared to last year, and the worst start to any year since the city's Vision Zero safety effort began in 2014, according to a recent report.

Near East 60th Street, other blocks have gotten similar upgrades during the pandemic: East 61st and 62nd streets were outfitted with protected bike lanes between Fifth and York avenues last year, over the objections of some residents who feared they would negatively affect a nearby daycare, dialysis center and outdoor restaurant setups.

The city's nearly $1 billion investment also aims to advance the goals of the Streets Master Plan: a law passed in 2019 that requires the city to spend the next decade designing non-car-centric uses for the city's thoroughfares.

The announcement came one day after the city announced 150 streets participating in this season's Open Streets program, including nine on the Upper East Side.

Related coverage:

• Mayor Eric Adams Announces More Than $900 Million To NYC Streets Plan
• Contested UES Bike Lanes To Be Installed This Summer, City Says