BRT + bike: East Side avenues have enough space for physically separated busways and protected bike lanes.

Sometime next month, reports Pete Donohue in today's Daily News, DOT intends to release detailed plans for First and Second Avenues. So far, we've only seen what an "off-set" bus lane configuration would look like, but DOT and the MTA are still considering a range of options. It's pretty clear that off-set bus lanes, placed between curbside parking and traffic, won't qualify as world-class.

Unlike separated lanes, off-set lanes require camera enforcement -- and state legislation -- to function properly. Albany rejected bus cams last year, and even if legislators suddenly change their minds, a camera-enforced off-set configuration invites conflict. Buses would have to contend with cars and delivery trucks trying to access the curb. Separated lanes eliminate that conflict and, paired with protected space for cyclists, invite more biking and walking.

So what would real-deal BRT look like on the East Side? The image up top is one of two options that Transportation Alternatives is backing to deliver the maximum benefits for transit riders, cyclists and pedestrians. The window of opportunity to get these ideas out there won't stay open much longer.

"We are pushing for a visionary design that's going to catalyze thousands of pedestrians, cyclists and bus riders, and turn them into champions of BRT," said TA's Wiley Norvell. "We know there will be opposition to change on First and Second Avenues, regardless of what is proposed; what is critical is that the design delivers the kind of new mobility that will build its own constituency of ardent supporters." Each option is projected to reduce the 70-minute travel time along the whole M15 bus route down to about 40 minutes, Norvell said. Implementing the same improvements applied to the Bx12 route on Fordham Road would only bring travel time down to 60 minutes.

Follow the jump for the other preferred design, showing a center-median bus-and-bikeway.

A center-median BRT configuration, with a protected bike lane similar to the new path on Allen Street.

Keep in mind that these are conceptual plans, and there's a great deal of flexibility in the details. In both configurations, local buses would operate in the separated busway, with smaller local stations placed in the median. Correction: In the first configuration, local bus service continues unchanged along the curbside. In the second, local buses would operate in the separated busway, with smaller local stations placed in the median. The second design can accommodate either two bus lanes in between stations, so BRT buses can pass the locals, or bays spaced at intervals for local buses to pull over and allow BRT buses to pass. Elements like bikeway design, curbside parking, and turning restrictions on vehicles could likewise vary within the framework of these plans.

Also, don't forget that BRT enhances service mainly by reducing the amount of time buses stand still or get bogged down in traffic. Average speeds improve dramatically, but these buses won't be zooming down the avenues.

Organized support for a multi-modal solution for the East Side is starting to coalesce. "If the DOT doesn't put bikes in their BRT designs, they're missing an opportunity," said Kurt Cavanaugh, managing director of the East Village Community Coalition, a local advocacy group. "Planning for buses and bikes together makes it as sustainable as possible."

Second-rate design is really not an option on this one. We have a mayor who's gone to the mat for congestion pricing, a DOT commissioner committed to safer, greener streets, and an MTA chair who's made better bus service priority number one. If New York can't pull off a visionary design for sustainable transportation now, maybe we never will.

Photo: Matt Hogan.

Vehicles exiting the Manhattan Bridge have turned this block, often teeming with people waiting for the Fung Wah Bus, into a constant danger zone. Here's what an employee at the jewelry store across the street told the Tribeca Trib:

"Ever since I was a kid, trucks come flying off the bridge," he said. "It’s at least three or four times a year, this happens, and it’s always these trucks. They fly right off that thing like there’s no tomorrow."

After 10 years at the store, John said he no longer ventures across the intersection for his lunch for fear of becoming the next casualty.

Update: Reader Matt Hogan informs us that the truck bed was packed with what looked like 50-pound bags of cement at the time of the crash. The rear of the vehicle is outfitted with an apparatus for mixing and pouring out concrete.

East Side residents sign on for safer, greener streets.

"We're really hoping to put a finger on the scales, and push for fully-protected bike lanes while the DOT and East Side communities work on improving the M15 corridor," said Transportation Alternatives' Wiley Norvell. "To not address the huge demand for biking on First and Second avenues, something the DOT pledged to do as step number one in its 1997 Bicycle Master Plan, would be a huge missed opportunity."

TA counted 3,356 cyclists on the First and Second Avenue corridor during a 12-hour stretch last month, a figure that far exceeds the DOT's 2008 screenline count at 59th Street, Norvell said. All those cyclists are a fearless bunch -- braving rivers of traffic and some of the city's most intimidating cycling conditions. Imagine how many more New Yorkers would bike down the avenues if they didn't feel they were risking life and limb.

Norvell says TA staff and volunteers have been gathering letters from East Harlem down to the Lower East Side in support of protected bike infrastructure. Yesterday's delivery put hundreds of letters in the hands of East Side electeds, including City Council Members Rosie Mendez and Daniel Garodnick.

"The meetings were very positive," said Caroline Samponaro, director of TA's bike program. "Their staff agreed that we shouldn't redesign First and Second avenues without including provisions for cyclists and pedestrians."

Active support from East Side representatives will be critical as plans for the corridor advance. "Every project is about political will," said Samponaro. "What these projects need is political leadership from the electeds. They need to be the spokespeople for their constituents."

The optimal re-design of First and Second avenues would give buses and cyclists "space that allows them to travel safely and efficiently without having to compete with each other," she added. "These corridors can serve the non-driving majority and set a standard for how other major avenues will be treated."

Fresh markings are going down on the revamped approach to the Williamsburg Bridge at Delancey Street. Courtesy of Adopt-a-Bike Lane volunteer leader Marin Tockman, here's what the site looked like as of yesterday afternoon. Seems like a marked, one-block connection to the median at Suffolk Street is imminent.

Another reader informs us that Suffolk, which runs one-way north to south, is set to receive a bike box at the point before it crosses Delancey. So riding to the bridge from the north should feel a lot more convenient, safe, and "normal" than before.

I'm also digging those continuous zebra stripes across Delancey.

We've received a few reports in the past week about construction work on the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge. DOT's press office says six bike ramps are being installed, and we hear from observers on the ground that construction is largely complete as of this morning: The bridge approach at Delancey and Clinton Street has three new curb cuts, as does the raised median at Suffolk Street. Now cyclists can get on and off the bike path without having to dismount or hop the curb.

The volunteers at Adopt-a-Bike-Lane have been pushing for a safer ride to the Willy-B since last fall. Together with Allen Street's ongoing livable streets makeover, this new, smoother approach is bound to whet appetites for a protected connection to points west.

The current round of pedestrian and bike improvements for Allen and Pike Street might be just the beginning.

The changes underway right now rely mainly on paint, planters, and paving surfaces to set aside space for public plazas and bike lanes. It's a great example of what you can do on a shoestring, but without a second phase of construction, the reclamation will have a temporary feel to it. The next iteration of this project might include plazas raised to sidewalk grade, for instance, or bike lanes with more robust physical protection. A solid showing in favor of further upgrades could help secure Parks Department funding for more long-term construction.

Representatives from Parks and DOT will be on hand at tonight's CB3 meeting. To voice support for investment in this promising livable streets project, head over to the BRC Senior Services Center at 30 Delancey Street (between Chrystie and Forsyth). The meeting starts at 6:30.

A reader sends this view of Pike Street, taken from the Manhattan Bridge bike path late last week. You'll notice the square of light pavement connecting two mall segments. That's the intersection with Monroe Street, one of four locations slated for pedestrian plazas in DOT's most recent plan for Pike and Allen Streets [PDF]. A center median protected bike path running from Houston Street down to the water -- the first of its kind in New York City, I believe, depending on how you categorize the Sands Street bike path -- is also in the works. DOT's project presentation characterizes these changes as interim improvements that can help generate support for further funding and more permanent construction.

The pedestrian and bike improvements on this corridor are the result of a painstaking bottom-up process that Sarah wrote about last September. Residents have been clamoring for safer walking, safer biking, and more welcoming public spaces on Allen and Pike for a long time. Soon, they'll be able to enjoy the benefits of more humane streets. (We have a request in with DOT to find out when the project will wrap up.)

Last night at the Council District 1 candidates debate, in the "lightning round" (one-line answers), a question was "Grand St. bike lane: good or bad."

All the candidates came out strongly against it to the cheers of some in the crowd. Only PJ Kim, the last to comment, tempered his statement with, "but we must not demonize bikers." They all either flatly opposed congestion pricing or want carve-outs for residents (pandering, hmmm?) and opposed East River tolls.

On the congestion pricing question (about 1:31:00 into this audio file posted on the Lo-Down), Pete Gleason and Alan Gerson were the two to outright oppose the idea -- although the incumbent Gerson voted for pricing last year. Margaret Chin, the only candidate to express any support for bridge tolls (check the 1:32:00 mark), qualified her answer by saying that car-poolers should be exempt.

Any exemption for congestion pricing or bridge tolls, of course, opens the door to more exemptions. The first people who will take advantage? Exactly the same placard-holders whom District 1 candidates rightly blame for clogging downtown streets.

We're talking about a district that is absolutely pummeled by bridge traffic, where about 80 percent of the households don't own a car. Those who do own one earn nearly two-and-a half times those who don't, on average [PDF]. There was a great opportunity here for a savvy candidate to separate from the pack on livable streets issues. And yet, no one chose to grab it.

Eight pedestrians have been hurt in a car accident involving a New York City police cruiser on the Lower East Side.

Police say the accident happened Tuesday afternoon on Avenue D near East 5th Street.

EMS says five of the injuries were serious.

It is unclear what led to the crash.

According to wooDave the officer(s) may have been pursuing a cyclist. If you know of other coverage of this breaking story, please link from comments.

Update: The Daily News says the cruiser hit another car, "at least five" pedestrians "including a baby," and a building.

A police car spun out of control in the East Village Tuesday - striking at least five pedestrians, including a baby, cops at the scene said.

The victims were rushed to Bellevue Hospital after the 4:15 p.m. accident on Ave. D and E. 6th St., sources said.

Witnesses said the NYPD car was speeding without a siren and collided with a white Cadillac heading in the opposite direction.

The police car mounted the curb, hitting several pedestrians.

"The cop was going really fast, too fast," said Brian Cooper, 42, who lives in the neighborhood.

"The police car jumped the curb and struck pedestrians on the sidewalk.

"I heard two loud bangs, the first when he hit the Cadillac and the second when he hit the building."

It's safer to cross Grand Street. The arrogance!

Lower Manhattan City Council rep Alan Gerson held a "transportation town hall" Monday night, following up on his pledge last year to closely monitor creeping safety enhancements to New York streets. Fellow City Council member John Liu, a candidate for comptroller, also made an appearance at the forum.

Based on a report in the Lo-Down, a new blog covering the Lower East Side, the session successfully gathered up ideas from ill-informed cranks:

The Grand Street bike lanes and center islands installed last year were ridiculed by several residents of Co-op Village. Harold Jacob accused DOT Commissioner Margaret Forgione of lying when she told him the center median was installed because pedestrians had been killed by cars on Grand Street. Jacob said he believed the changes had, in fact, made the street more dangerous. Because there is less room to maneuver, Jacob claimed fire trucks and ambulances can't safely pass through. "You've actually put lives in danger," he told DOT officials.

Another resident contended the islands, opposed by Community Board 3,  were "arrogantly conceived and arrogantly carried out." More than one speaker blamed Mayor Bloomberg, accusing him of "destroying Grand Street." Some people demanded that the medians be removed -- others wanted the bike lanes eliminated.

A quick CrashStat check reveals that, contrary to Mr. Jacob's gut assertion, several people have been killed by autos while walking on Grand Street in recent years. Co-op Village, like many other housing developments in the area, is home to a big senior population. Those pedestrian refuges make Grand Street safer to cross and less intimidating to older New Yorkers. Rolling back critical safety improvements that improve seniors' quality of life -- is that really the kind of "community input" that Gerson wants to align himself with?

A reader reports of another NYPD cyclist crackdown, this time on the Lower East Side.

This tip is a little overdue, but 2-3 weeks ago I was pulled over on my bike by a traffic cop hiding behind a van on the east side of the Bowery, between Rivington and Prince St. He had also pulled over another cyclist, and proceeded to write him a summons for turning right on a red light. He said that the NYPD had received a lot of complaints about cyclists running the red light at Rivington. When the cyclist asked who had complained -- businesses, residents, etc. -- the cop replied, "Everyone." Interestingly, he said that he was not out to get cyclists, and rather than write him the $250 red light summons, he wanted to let him off easy with a $50 pedestrian obstruction summons. By the time he got to me, he kept me waiting while he answered a phone call, and ended up waving me off without a summons. This after about 15 minutes of watching him make a production out of how nice he was being to the other cyclist.

I decided to write to Streetsblog when I saw that, a couple of days ago, cops in the same location were writing out summonses to a good half-dozen cyclists. I guess they are doing a blitz. Cyclists using the Bowery to get to the start of the Prince Street bike lane, beware.

Cops are not the only thing to look out for. Motorists make this area an especially hostile environment. We know of two pedestrians and one cyclist killed on the Bowery just since late 2007. Yet instead of slowing down out-of-control drivers, NYPD again chooses to target cyclists -- even as the brass preaches the value of "green" transportation.

If intensified traffic law enforcement can be spurred by vague "complaints," where is the police response to actual fatalities?

A photosim of the East Houston Street plan; existing condition shown inset. Image: DCP.

Up-to-date plans of the new street geometry were not available as of this writing, but the design is based largely on the Department of City Planning's East Houston Street Pedestrian Project, finalized in 2006. A spokesman for the Department of Design and Construction said the project would incorporate many, but not all, of the recommendations in that report [PDF].

There's a lot to like in the 2006 plan, including two big pedestrian areas where Houston angles across the regular grid of Manhattan at Avenue A and Avenue D. Based on recent descriptions, the final project will incorporate those two plazas. Street space would also be reclaimed with wider medians, pedestrian refuges, and sidewalk neckdowns to shorten crossing distances. But will the new East Houston feel safe for cyclists?

Currently, 70 percent of drivers on East Houston Street speed, according to studies conducted by Transportation Alternatives. "It's hard to imagine that paint will offer the kind of protection mainstream New Yorkers will need to feel safe biking on this crucial, yet dangerous corridor," said TA's Wiley Norvell. "The city has innovative physically-protected designs on hand, and to not use them on Houston would be a huge missed opportunity."

In response, DOT emphasized the project's pedestrian improvements. DOT considers protected bike paths less-than-ideal for typical two-way streets, and the agency expects the removal of two traffic lanes to reduce vehicle speeds.

Even if traffic calms somewhat, the buffered lane will invite the same double-parking that plagues other Class 2 lanes. People choose to bike based on their perceptions of safety, and a buffer can only shift perceptions so far.

"Houston is by no means a typical two way street," said Norvell. "It is exactly the type of wide arterial roadway that calls for a physically separated lane. This city's bike network will continue to remain unusable for the average New Yorker until streets like Houston are provided with the protected lanes they require to be safe."

Cops ticketing bikers on Delancey by the Williamsburg Bridge this morning. They claimed it wasn't us, that they were sent out because of community board complaints about bikers.

"The community board made us do it." If that's the case, then can we also get ramped up enforcement of reckless driving, which communities all over town have been demanding for as long as we can remember?

Update from our source:

Two bikers ahead of me were stopped by cops, I assumed because of running red lights. I hadn't even done so yet, when I was motioned by a cop towards him, where the two cops ticketed all three of us. I thought it was very interesting to note that the cops made a point of telling each of us that it really had nothing to do with us, that they were specifically told to come out and target bikers. I have no idea why they said that, but it seemed like they were trying to act respectfully. One cop even said, "Just get off the bike and walk it through the red." Wouldn't that be jaywalking? "Failed to yield to ped" is what the ticket says. There were no pedestrians around, other than the two cops, which I was nowhere near. I will be pleading Not Guilty.

Update 2: Thanks for the corroborating reports in the comments, folks. According to the community affairs desk at the 7th Precinct, the police have not received complaints from CB 3 about cyclists exiting the bridge. So, the issuing of bogus tickets to cyclists would appear to be the NYPD's own initiative.

Update 3: CB 3 district manager Susan Stetzer confirms that her community board has not complained to NYPD about cyclists.

I watched for an hour while cars, trucks and pedestrians shared this space quietly... with civility! Little honking, no aggressive driving, no traffic cop. Why? Because the light was out.

No one had to speed up and honk to make the green light on time; no one honked or changed lanes to take advantage of the narrow window of time the light granted them. Everyone came to a stop, looked around (wondering why the light was dead, and what they should do), and proceeded slowly thru.

Instead of a line of cars waiting for the light to change, alternate sides vying with each other for the few precious moments allowing them the right to pass thru... no one had to wait very long. And in fact the alternate sides traded back and forth, almost at a one-to-one ratio. No one had to wait, so no one got stuck in a line, so no one sped up, so no one honked, so there was no need for aggressive driving! Even pedestrians got their due.

Someone should examine this closely. Reminds me of similarities to Hans Monderman and Shared Spaces.

Pedestrian plazas would reclaim six intersections connecting the Allen and Pike Street malls.

Allen/Pike Street Improvements, Manhattan
In 2009, DOT will improve pedestrian safety on Allen and Pike Streets from E. Houston Street to the water's edge at South Street; while creating a pilot expansion and enhancement of the malls. In addition to widened malls, the plan includes new separated left turn lanes, new crossings between the malls, protected bicycle lanes located adjacent the current malls and new public spaces where the center malls will connect through six intersections.

Lots of intriguing graphics in this presentation [PDF].

The meeting starts at 6:30 tonight, at University Settlement, Speyer Hall (184 Eldridge Street between Rivington and Delancey).

On a day when you'd hope City Council members would be focused on the Bikes in Buildings bill, Manhattan City Councilman Alan Gerson is planning to introduce a new piece of legislation aimed at giving someone -- presumably City Council -- greater opportunity to "review" DOT bike infrastructure plans before they are implemented.

Details are sketchy at this point. All we've got is the sub-title of his proposed law so it's probably unfair to jump to conclusions, but let's go ahead and do just that. I think we can pretty well assume that Gerson is looking to set up a process that gives City Council members greater control over DOT's bike network build-out, particularly, critical bike safety projects like the ones that have been popping up in his district recently.

By Council Member Gerson:
..Title
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to review of bicycle lanes.
Transportation Committee

We'll be putting in a call to Gerson's office. If you live in Lower Manhattan, you can too.

And in Dyker Heights this morning, a driver killed a 74-year-old woman as she crossed the street, reports NBC:

The victim was hit at about 7 a.m. Friday at the intersection of 75th Street and 14th Avenue, police said.

Police determined that the woman was crossing the street when a grey-colored vehicle traveling west on 75th street struck her. The vehicle then fled the scene, police said.

Imagine the uproar if another crane collapse had caused this loss of life.

"The thousands who ride on Delancey every day shouldn't feel like they are taking their lives in their own hands," says Marin Tockman, founder of Adopt-a-Bike-Lane, who was herself the victim of a crash while riding on Delancey. "We want these rides to show bicyclists how much better their commutes would be if this street made space for them."

Over 3,000 cyclists cross the Williamsburg Bridge every day, according to TA, which says the intersection of Essex and Delancey is the third most dangerous for cyclists in the entire city. Between 1995 and 2005, 99 cyclists and 308 pedestrians were injured by motor vehicles on Delancey.

The Adopt-a-Bike-Lane effort was spurred by the death of Rasha Shamoon, who was killed at Delancey and Bowery in August. Today's rides will depart from Delancey and Bowery every five minutes from 6:00 to 7:00. Cyclists will gather for an after-party at The City Reliquary in Williamsburg from 7:00 to 9:00.

Photo: crayfray/Flickr

New pedestrian space borders Sara Roosevelt Park on Forsyth Street. (The buffered zone is for parking, not biking.)

Redesigns of Chrystie and Forsyth Streets have started to materialize, giving cyclists and pedestrians a glimpse of changes to come. New bicycle lanes on Chrystie Street may be the most widely anticipated aspect of DOT's planned changes to the Manhattan Bridge access area, but they are only part of a broader effort to calm traffic and increase pedestrian safety on the Lower East Side.

Forsyth Street has already been transformed in several important ways. In late September, about 50 parking spaces were cleared from the west side of the street, and angled parking on the east side was converted to conventional curbside parking. The formerly two-way stretch between Delancey and Grand Streets was converted to one-way uptown.

These changes liberated a lane for the new 10-foot-wide pedestrian path along the edge of Sara D. Roosevelt Park from Hester Street to Houston Street. DOT plans to convert the painted path into a proper sidewalk sometime in 2009, according to its Safe Streets for Seniors report released last month [PDF]. The document indicates that parking will again be permitted on the west side of the street, shifted one lane further toward the center.

Meanwhile, Chrystie Street has already been resurfaced in preparation for its new treatment. Bike lanes, pedestrian islands, narrower motorist lanes, less parking, and designated left turning lanes will make Chrystie a more complete street. The measures should help lower the average of 172 crashes per year recorded from 2001-2006 on the seven-block stretch.

The next logical step for the highly traveled, nearly unbroken straightaway of Chrystie Street would be a protected cycle track à la Copenhagen or New York's own Ninth Avenue. DOT opted not to pursue a cycle track, despite the fact that members of the Community Board 3 transportation committee advocated for the idea. A protected cycle track is, however, scheduled to be installed on adjacent Grand Street. Like Chrystie Street, much of Grand Street has recently been resurfaced but currently has no lane markings whatsoever.

Photo: Gideon Shapiro

Local residents turned out to give their opinions on the renovation of the malls early last summer.

Residents of the Lower East Side and Chinatown have been fighting for improvements to the Allen and Pike Street pedestrian malls for more than a decade. Now, with the city's Parks Department set to begin a $5.4 million renovation of the malls below East Broadway, their wait for meaningful action might be nearing an end.

The Hester Street Collaborative has just released a final report on the community's visioning process (download the full study), which was coordinated by United Neighbors to Revitalize Allen and Pike (UNRAP) and will be used to inform the upcoming work.

The malls, which run along the center of Pike and Allen Streets from the East River to Houston Street, have long been in a state of disrepair. The pavement is cracked and uneven. There's little vegetation. The roar of traffic is ever-present. "There's a tremendous need for more viable open space here," says Annie Frederick, executive director of the Hester Street Collaborative. "This neighborhood has one of the lowest rates of public space in the city."

This April, a "demonstration mall" was completed on the block between Broome and Delancey, with new planter beds, benches, and sculptures. This summer, UNRAP invited neighborhood residents and organizers to a series of "Take Back Your Park" events to provide feedback and suggest improvements to the project -- like raised planters to better buffer traffic noise, and a meandering path instead of a straight one.

The new report incorporates comments and suggestions from those events, as well as the ideas of students from the New Design High School who studied the malls as part of an intensive summer program.

Among the priorities that emerged were green space, improved buffers from street noise and traffic, connection to the East River waterfront, and events and art exhibits that highlight and preserve the cultural history of the area. Known as "Avenue of the Immigrants," Allen Street is at the heart of an area that is rapidly changing due to gentrification (the malls themselves, constructed in the wake of slum clearance, occupy space where tenements once stood).

Support also emerged for traffic-calming measures and a bike lane that would connect to Manhattan Bridge access. The city DOT has said it is looking for funds from the state DOT to implement that type of improvement.

"What we're hearing over and over again is that Allen Street is over-engineered as a road," said Frederick. "It's not safe." She added that her experience working with the current DOT makes her optimistic about changes, although budgetary constraints will be a factor. "I'm very hopeful," she said. "There has been a real sense of inter-agency collaboration and willingness to listen to the local community. There's been a shift in culture."

Photos: Hester Street Collaborative