City begins work on protected bike lane after 3-year delay
Sources say Eric Adams' administration changed its mind on the original plan in 2023.
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Three years after sources said former Mayor Eric Adams' administration backtracked on a plan to put a protected bike lane on the block of Ashland Place between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place, work finally began on Tuesday.
"We get all types of responses, some nice people, some not so nice," laughed Federico Caimi, a linesmaker with Empire Local 1010 who was working on the project.
Aside from the bike lane, the plan also calls for that block of Ashland and the block of Hanson Place leading to it to both be turned into one-way streets.
"Man! It's gonna make traffic worse," said Terry Moore, who lives in the area. "It's terrible!"
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, that one block is the only gap in a 5.2-mile stretch of protected bike lane, which can take cyclists all the way from DUMBO to Bay Ridge.
"[The block is] stressful and dangerous," said Heidi Diehl, who often bikes in the area. "I try to avoid it."
"It feels very New York," chuckled Drew Miller, who often bikes in the neighborhood. "It just kind of doesn't make sense and things get overlooked."
This is not necessarily a case of things being overlooked, however. The city had plans to do this project back in 2023, but sources tell News 12 that the Adams administration ended up changing its mind and canceling it.
"This is like a very popular place, and sometimes it's very congested, so to make it a one-way on top of the congestion is like more congestion," said Kaid Ali, who lives close by.
The DOT says the area now gets around 1,200 bikers a day, but because of just how many people double park, the cyclists usually end up getting forced into the road and sharing a lane with the cars.
"It's not really a problem," said Ali, "because everyone is just driving slow over here."
But Diehl disagrees.
"Sometimes you have to get off (your bike) and walk, just because there's too many cars," she says.
Without the protected lane, city data lists 37 crashes, including eight cyclists, on the two blocks where work is being done since the start of 2023.
"Cars are cars," said Diehl, "there's a lot of people trying to use the space, but hopefully it's going to be safer."
Workers on site told News 12 they expected to finish the street painting by the end of the day Thursday, then wrap up redoing the intersections early next week.
