A plan to upgrade the bike lane on Lafayette Street and 4th Avenue was given the green light by Community Board 2, with changes expected to be fully implemented in the coming months.
The plan will turn the existing northbound painted bike lane at Lafayette Street and 4th Avenue into a protected lane from Prince Street to 12th Street, as well as add three parking spaces by adjusting antiquated parking regulations. The board's transportation committee voted unanimously on March 6th to endorse DOT's plan to upgrade the lane, and last night the full board gave the go-ahead on plans to create the lane, which will be implemented by using a row of parked cars as a natural buffer between bikers and street traffic. DOT informs us that the adjustments should be completed by spring.
Janet Liff, a Village resident and also a member of bike-friendly advocates Transportation Alternatives, said protected bike lanes are known to decrease the number of accidents as well as increase business at nearby stores. She says that "sales have gone up at a faster rate than equivalent streets that haven't seen these improvements." In addition, she said that a petition for the plan garnered 76 signatures from residents and won the support of nine local business owners.
Greenwich Village resident Heather Thomas said a protected bike lane will mitigate the danger she faces each day cycling on the Lafayette street intersection. She noted that the street is a constant danger, "especially at 8th street, where the road curves. Cars are usually moving through that intersection pretty quickly and they're usually coming in what is now an unprotected bike lane."
Not everybody, of course, was happy about the proposal. Zella Jones, president of NoHo Bowery Stakeholders famous for her NIMBY activism, claimed that the protected bike lanes would actually pose a danger to local residents. Two large maps, which sat at the lip of the stage while she spoke, illustrated what she described as the street's "important conditions which have been overlooked in the haste to institute a protected bike lane in our neighborhood," adding that the plan had failed to adequately account for the opinions of NoHo residents.
Regardless, the proposal sailed through the vote, and construction on the street has already begun. Take a look at the full plan, available as a PDF, here.
