Central Park West Protected Bike Lane Approved By Community Board

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The city plan to install a protected bike lane on Central Park West and eliminate hundreds of parking spots from the avenue was approved Tuesday night by the Upper West Side's Community Board 7.

The full board voted overwhelmingly to pass the city Department of Transportation proposal by a vote of 27 in favor, seven opposed and five abstentions. A last-minute amendment to push a board vote back six months for a traffic study was defeated during the meeting.

The city's plan turns the east side of Central Park West into a northbound protected bike lane between West 59th and 110th streets by removing 400 parking spots. The parking will be replaced by a 7-foot-wide buffer zone equipped with flexible delineators to separate cars from cyclists. Traffic lanes will not be removed from the avenue, according to the city.

City planners said the new bike lane will be a critical part in Manhattan's bike network because it will provide unobstructed northbound access for 50 blocks. The lack of cars turning onto Central Park West from the east will allow cyclists to move very efficiently and safely in the lane. The lane should also benefit pedestrians by creating shorter crossings on Central Park West, city planners said Tuesday. Buses will still be able to pick up and drop off riders on the east side of the avenue, city planers said.

Community Board 7 and local elected officials had been asking the Department of Transportation to come up with plans for a protected lane on the parkside avenue since the 2018 death of Australian tourist Madison Jane Lyden. Cycling and safe streets advocates declared Tuesday night's vote a victory, but urged the city to come up with a plan for a south-bound protected bike lane on the avenue.

Lyden was riding in the unprotected bike lane when she was forced to swerve into Central Park West because her path was blocked by a cab dropping off a passenger on the east side of the avenue.

"We commend Manhattan Community Board 7 for passing a safer design for Central Park West tonight, and Mayor de Blasio for initially proposing it. Although we remain committed to an eventual southbound protected bike lane being installed along the corridor when congestion pricing is implemented in 2021, it is important to get to work immediately to reduce the dangers cyclists face right now," Transportation Alternatives Senior Director of Advocacy Thomas DeVito said in a statement.

Much of the crowd at Tuesday night's board meeting was in favor of the bike lane, and held signs reading "board 7 do the right thing" and photos of people who have been killed in traffic collisions.

Timothy Malin, the commander of the NYPD's 20th precinct, spoke in favor of the protected bike lane during Tuesday night's meeting. Malin said that the NYPD is "agnostic" on whether or not not have a bike lane, but added "if you're going to do it, if you are going to put a bike lane in there do it right and use a protected bike lane."

A number of Central Park West residents also brought up concerns about irresponsible biking and the loss of parking in the neighborhood. One woman saying she represents "about 30 buildings" on the avenue argued that the street's residents "overwhelmingly oppose" the city's proposal, drawing an applause. The woman later went on to blame Madison Jane Lyden for her own death, saying "she wasn't an American, she did not know the rules."

The city Department of Transportation will begin to implement the new lane in the fall, city officials said.