As part of its Green Wave initiative to make cycling safer in New York City, the de Blasio administration has pledged to add 30 miles of protected bike lanes each year to the 480 miles of existing protected lanes. But that total just got around seven avenues smaller, because the Department of Transportation and the Parks Department have erased the protected bike lane that runs west across Leif Ericson Park in Bay Ridge.
While the Leif Ericson Park bike lane has never been very good (Streetsblog suggested in 2018 that it may be the "worst 'protected' bike lane in the city") a bad bike lane is still better than dodging drivers in a notoriously vehicle-saturated neighborhood. It's even been on the official DOT bike lane map for years.
When a cyclist asked the Parks Department why the lane was so crummy, a Parks spokesperson responded: that's because it's not actually a bike lane.
A Parks spokesperson essentially reiterated that position, and claimed that the signs declaring it a bikeway were unauthorized and never should have been installed.
"The good news is Parks and NYC DOT are now officially re-evaluating the bike way’s relationship to the park," the spokesperson said.
Community Boards are also supposed to weigh in when a bike lane is installed or removed, and it doesn't appear that happened in this case.
The DOT declined to comment and referred us to the Parks statement.
"Seems like many years ago, the Parks Department installed signs declaring this a greenway, but they never actually built out the infrastructure to support a greenway," Bay Ridge Councilmember Justin Brannan told Gothamist via email. "There are spots along this path that lead you straight into the side of parked car. It’s bizarre. Parks and DOT agree and we’re trying to make it right."
"Southern Brooklyn already has a deficit of protected bikeways that are comfortable for riders of all ages and abilities. The Leif Ericson Greenway serves as a critical link for two of the few that currently exist, the new protected lanes on 4th Avenue, and the new bike path on Seventh Avenue," Brian Hedden, the founder of Bike South Brooklyn, told Gothamist. "The erasure of the greenway tears this fledgling network apart and leaves behind two disconnected corridors."
Hedden said that the de Blasio administration's claim that the bike lane was never a bike lane "doesn't pass the smell test."
"I don't think that the Mayor himself is being disingenuous, but it feels like some borough commissioner or district manager with a rogue agenda is making unilateral decisions that reflect poorly on the administration and make them look like they can't be trusted to honor their word," Hedden said, noting that Bay Ridge is one of the seven neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens that are slated to receive new protected bike lanes.
"Any erasure of the existing network counts against that," Hedden said.
