The plan would protect the existing bike lane between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue by restoring on-street parking to the south side of Carmine and converting the two-way street to one lane east-bound. The idea first surfaced two years ago, after merchants balked at the removal of parking to make way for the original bike lane. The parking-protected bike lane had since cleared no fewer than three public votes held by CB2 and the Carmine Street Block Association, which represents the merchants.

"Everyone on the transportation committee said very strongly that this will result in a safer, quieter, more pleasant street for pedestrians and bicyclists," said CB2's Ian Dutton. "In the end we said we would write a letter thanking DOT and agreeing with them, but apparently, due to neighborhood hysteria, now is not the time to endorse."

Here's a taste of some of the arguments opponents put forth last night, as recounted by Dutton. The new configuration will make it impossible to execute illegal U-turns on Carmine. The elimination of the west-bound lane will increase traffic flow. Trash bags will slide into the bike lane, making it slippery and dangerous for cyclists.

This last point was scored by a former saxophone shop proprietor who goes by the name "Dr. Rick." Dr. Rick currently runs this website and last night was heard boasting that he's spent 18 hours a day for the past month convincing people of the dangers that will ensue from the Carmine Street plan.

That's what it takes to drum up a crowd loud enough to cow supporters of safer streets. "Apparently there were some people there to speak in favor of the plan, and they were threatened enough that they didn't speak," said Dutton. "The problem is that the people who show up to these meetings are those who are trying to defend their driving. Nevermind the thousands of people who walk across those intersections every day."

DOT now finds itself in the position of deciding whether last night's mob-like display should override three prior public votes and the proven safety benefits of similar street designs. City offices are closed for the holiday and we weren't able to obtain comment from the agency as of this afternoon. Said Dutton: "We realize that this sets a really bad precedent -- a community board asks for a safer street and DOT delivers, and then a few people overturn it."

In late 2007, a bike lane was added to Carmine as part of DOT's Lower Manhattan crosstown bike route. In response to merchant complaints over the loss of delivery access, a community-generated proposal was put forward to convert Carmine to one-way eastbound with parking on both sides and a parking-protected bike lane, a la Grand Street. Though the plan subsequently drawn up by DOT [PDF] has been approved by CB 2 and the Carmine Street Block Association, it remains in limbo due to what has been described as a "one-man crusade" to derail it. For a taste of the histrionics fueling the opposition, click here.

The CB 2 transpo committee has already endorsed the protected lane and tends to embrace street designs that are most beneficial to vulnerable street users. Still, some who have shepherded the plan for two years now fear a "compromise" that could result in the conversion of Carmine to one-way with a conventional Class 2 unprotected lane, rather than the configuration that has brought marked safety benefits (and similar ill-founded controversy) to Grand Street. Needless to say, the more friendly voices heard tonight, the better.

WHAT: Manhattan Community Board 2 Transportation Committee meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6:45 p.m.
WHERE: NYU Languages and Literature Building, 19 University Place (at W. 8th St.), Rm. 102

Opponents of the Department of Transportation's plan for a new Lower Manhattan crosstown bike route are expected to make a show of force at tonight's Community Board 2 Transportation Committee meeting in an effort to preserve a few dozen on-street parking spaces along Carmine and Bleecker Streets. Bicycling advocates are urging their supporters to show up as well.

Opponents began mobilizing two weeks ago after DOT removed all of the parking meters on Carmine Street and erected "No Standing" signs in preparation for the new bike lane. The loss of parking space angered a small but vocal group of local residents and merchants who managed to put the issue back on tonight's Transportation Committee agenda despite an 8 to 1 commitee vote in favor of DOT's plan and full Community Board approval last April.

Item number six on the agenda for this evening's Community Board meeting is, "Request to keep parking along Carmine St. bet. 7th Ave. and Bleecker St. intact and to put the new bicycle lane to the left of the parked cars." A local activist says to expect "fierce opposition from resident car owners and merchants" at tonight's meeting.

While it seems unlikely that opponents will be successful in overturning last spring's Community Board vote, which took place after many hours of deliberation, Transportation Alternatives is urging local bike lane supporters to show up tonight to support the critical east-west bike network link:

The Carmine Street bike lane will connect the Hudson River Greenway to the eastbound Bleecker Street bike lane. This is the DOT's first attempt to make sure that bike lanes don't simply dead-end, but connect with one another in a neighborhood bike network. This network represents the diligent efforts of Manhattan Community Board 2, and it is essential that the work proceed as originally planned.

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30pm in the NYU Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place, Room 710. ID is required. 

The city's proposal for lanes on Prince and Bleecker -- streets parallel to Houston, rather than Houston itself -- met resistance earlier this year from those who saw the plan as a flawed compromise for a dangerous, auto-centric Houston Street, as well as those who do not want street parking supplanted by "reckless cyclists."

Ian Dutton of the Houston Street bike safety initiative snapped these photographs of yet another never-before-seen street design feature here in New York City. This is what's called a "Bike Box" at the  intersection of W. 9th St. and Sixth Ave. Bike boxes allow cyclists approaching the intersection with a red signal to position themselves at the front of the line of vehicles. This makes bike travel faster and the right turn onto northbound Sixth Avenue safer.

New bike boxes are also being striped in on Carlton Avenue at Bergen Street and on DeKalb and Flushing Avenues in Brooklyn. Technically, these aren't New York City's first-ever bike boxes. There have been previous attempts to install them in various spots but the design of these new ones seem to be much bigger, clearer, cleaner and closer to what you see in bike-friendly cities elsewhere.

One city that appreciates its bike boxes is London. Traveling on a German Marshall Fellowship in March I met with John Dinunzio, a Project Coordinator with the London Cycle Network (or LCN+), working to build out that city's bike infrastructure. John and his team are big proponents of bike boxes. I saw a lot of them throughout London. London motorists mostly seem to respect the bike boxes. Let's see if New York City drivers do the same.