A 2-Mile Manhattan Bike Lane Gets Critical Upgrade, City Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — New traffic lights for cyclists are coming to the Upper East Side portion of Third Avenue, as the latest design change along the corridor to calm traffic, the New York City Department of Transportation said.

A first for New York, these new, smaller signal lights are being installed at cyclist eye-level between East 60th Street and East 96th Street and will be placed strategically near parts of the intersections where left-turning vehicles cross the bicycle lane, where most crashes happen, the department said. The lights are bicycle-shaped for added clarity.

These lights are the latest addition to the Upper East Side stretch of Third Avenue, which was first redesigned in 2023 for pedestrian and cyclist safety after it was designated as a "Vision Zero Priority Corridor" due to racking up 31 traffic injuries and five traffic fatalities between 2020 and 2024.

Now, the corridor has a new bus lane, a new parking-protected bike lane, and pedestrian islands.

Earlier this year, the department changed the timing and pace of the traffic lights along the avenue so that vehicles driving at 15 miles per hour will hit consecutive green lights, which the department calls a 'green wave.'

“Our transformative redesign of Third Avenue has already made the street safer —whether you are walking, biking, or driving,” NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said. “These new traffic signals for cyclists complement our green wave traffic timing, the next natural step in making sure the thousands of cyclists who use this street every day can keep both themselves and the many pedestrians crossing Third Avenue safe."

The city plans to return to the corridor later this year to deliver similar bike and bus lane upgrades to Third Avenue’s northern corridor, from East 96th to East 128th streets.

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