With more Ridgewood residents getting around on two wheels, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is continuing its effort to create a unified bike lane network, connecting major roadways in two boroughs.
As part of that plan, DOT proposed several new bike lanes that would connect Ridgewood and Bushwick to the Community Board 5 (CB 5) Transportation and Public Transit Services Committees during their joint meeting at the board office in Ridgewood on Tuesday night.
“Overall, it starts bridging this gap, connecting Ridgewood to Bushwick,” said Craig Baerwald, representative from DOT. “So that’s really the main benefits of the proposal, providing this dedicated space where feasible, help deter speeding, and help improve mobility by connecting the neighborhoods together via the developing bike network.”
The DOT’s proposal includes:
- an eastbound bike lane on Irving Avenue, from Eldert Street to Cooper Avenue;
- a northbound bike lane on Cornelia Street, from Wyckoff Avenue to Woodward Avenue;
- a southbound bike lane on Catalpa Avenue, from Woodward Avenue to Seneca Avenue;
- an eastbound shared lane on Seneca Avenue, from Catalpa Avenue to Hancock Street; and
- a southbound bike lane on Hancock Street, from Seneca Avenue to Wyckoff Avenue, including an eastbound curbside bike lane on the south curb of Wyckoff Avenue.
For the sections of bike lanes on Cornelia Street, Hancock Street and Catalpa Avenue, DOT would implement a 5-foot bike lane to the 30-foot-wide corridors, Baerwald explained. This would alert drivers that cyclists may be on the road and help reduce speeding on those streets by creating a travel lane of 10 feet, the standard width for DOT.
On Wyckoff Avenue, there is a short section where DOT would need to install a 5-foot curbside bike lane to allow cyclists to safely cross over Wyckoff Avenue.
Irving Avenue is a wider street, Baerwald said, allowing for a dedicated bike lane and wider parking lanes while keeping a 10-foot travel lane.
Committee members expressed that they were in favor of the proposed bike lanes and will write a letter of approval. There was no timetable given as to when these changes would be implemented.
