Protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn will be removed after crashes, mayor says
Mayor Eric Adams is back-pedaling on a protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, citing safety concerns.
A spokesperson for the mayor said three blocks of the protected bike lane in Williamsburg will be removed by the end of June.
Children injured in bike lane collisions, residents say
Joel Blaustein says his block has become more dangerous since the city installed the protected bike lane last year.
"It's endangering our children going on and off from the buses," he said. "There was like 20 or 30 incidents already."
One crash was caught on video back on Jan. 7. A child gets off the school bus and walks toward the curb. He emerges from between two parked cars right into the path of a cyclist in the bike lane. The child was struck, but was not seriously injured.
On Friday, the mayor posted on X, "After several incidents - including some involving children — on a section of the Bedford Avenue bike lane in Williamsburg, Department of Transportation Commissioner Rodriguez and I listened to community concerns and decided to adjust the current design to better reflect community feedback."
Blaustein is praising the mayor, saying the change will keep children safe as they cross the street.
"It's very exciting news for the neighborhood," he said. "We are glad to Mayor Adams."
Removing protected lane will endanger cyclists, City Councilmember says
City Council Member Lincoln Restler criticized the mayor's decision.
"This is just pure politics. That is not how safety decisions on our streets should be made," he said.
Restler acknowledges the need for safety enhancements on the notoriously dangerous stretch of road between Willoughby and Flushing avenues, but he says ripping out the protected bike lane is reckless.
"We needed to do more to slow down cyclists. We needed to do more to engage families and children about how to safely cross a protected bike lane," he said. "He is going to make this area less safe for pedestrians, for cyclists."
Cyclists like Tom Murray would rather see another solution.
"The public transport in this city is so bad already. Why take away one of the only ways that people can get around apart from a car?" he said.
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