UWS Residents Sue To Block Central Park West Protected Bike Lane

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A group of Upper West Side residents is suing the city to block a street safety plan on Central Park West that will remove about 400 parking spots to create a protected bike lane, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan supreme court.

The board of the Century Condominium, located at 25 Central Park West and West 63rd Street, claims in an Article 78 lawsuit filed Tuesday that the city Department of Transportation is going forward with the bike lane plan without completing the necessary environmental studies.

"DOT, like any other agency, is required to incorporate environmental considerations into its decision-making process, as strictly mandated by [State Environmental Quality Review Act] and [City Environmental Quality Review]. Upon information and belief, based on DOT’s representations in a similar action, DOT has not conducted any such review," the lawsuit reads.

The city planned to begin work to reconfigure Central Park West's existing unprotected lane into a protected lane with a seven-foot buffer this year. The plan was approved by local Community Board 7 in a June vote that overwhelmingly favored the city's plan.

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. 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 two-way 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. 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.

City lawyers will be in court Wednesday arguing against a temporary restraining order to block work on the avenue, according to Streetsblog New York, which first reported on the lawsuit.