Community Board Backs Change To Dyckman Street Bike Lane

INWOOD, NY — Community Board 12 — which represents Inwood and Washington Heights — has joined a chorus of voices calling on the city Department of Transportation to remove or change two newly-implemented protected bike lanes on Dyckman Street.

The board voted on Tuesday to approve a resolution suggesting the DOT remove a protected bike lane on the south side of Dyckman Street and change one on the north side into a two-way lane. The board's chair, Shah Ally, said that the board felt the bike lanes were not implemented responsibly.

"We certainly do not in any way condemn transportation alternatives," Ally said." We have been advocates, but it just has to be done in a responsible way."

The board chair said that concerns about the current bike lanes came from a "cross section" of the local community including businesses, pedestrians, motorists and emergency responders. Despite the inability to review city data regarding the current bike lanes — the lanes were first installed in December and it's too soon to accurately estimate their impact — the board needed to move fast due to the volume of complaints, Ally said.

The board's executive committee had initially backed relocating both lanes to a different street, but the resolution was altered during Tuesday's vote.

"These resolutions reflect the feedback we are getting from the community," Ally said. "There is argument to keep the bike lanes, that’s why we split the difference."

The resolution's approval was supported by City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who has been pushing a similar plan in recent months.

In the months following the installation of the bike lanes, the local business community has been the most vocal opponent of the new street configuration. Bike lane opponents claim that Dyckman Street is more congested than ever, which has hurt sales and is preventing emergency vehicles from accessing the street.

But those claims were disputed by the city. Department of Transportation officials said during a public hearing this month that traffic times got worse on Dyckman Street immediately after the bike lanes were implemented, but data shows that times have actually improved as motorists have become used to the new street layout.

Ultimately, the bike lanes are a street safety project, DOT officials said. There were 242 traffic-related injuries on Dyckman Street between 2012 and 2016, officials said. Of those injuries, eight pedestrians, one cyclist and three motor vehicle passengers were seriously hurt. Protected bike lans have proved to reduce traffic injuries to all street users by as much as 15 percent, DOT officials said during the May 8 public hearing.

During that hearing, DOT officials said there were no long-term plans to change the street configuration. Because the Community Board is an advisory body, it does not have the power to force the city into making any decisions on the bike lanes.

Photo by Brendan Krisel/Patch