Protective barriers on a stretch of Brooklyn’s longest bike lane will be removed in response to complaints from residents, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.
The Bedford Avenue bike lane has been the subject of controversy in South Williamsburg since it was first installed under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Last year, Adams’ transportation department redesigned a particularly chaotic section of the street leading up to Flushing Avenue, where traffic bound for the BQE and double-parked cars create a sketchy ride for cyclists. The unprotected bike lane was replaced with a lane shielded by parked cars, among other improvements. But on Friday, Adams announced the previous unprotected design would be restored between Willoughby and Flushing avenues.
“After several incidents — including some involving children — on a section of the Bedford Avenue bike lane in Williamsburg, Department of Transportation Commissioner [Ydanis] Rodriguez and I listened to community concerns and decided to adjust the current design to better reflect community feedback,” Adams wrote on X.
Two weeks ago, Adams held a town hall in Williamsburg where numerous members of the neighborhood’s Hasidic community criticized the bike lane. They cited a viral video where a person riding an e-bike crashed into a young child who dashed into the bike lane from a double parked car.
An online petition against the redesigned bike lane titled “DOT: Please Stop the Murder of our Children” has more than 3,000 signatures.
Members of the local Hasidic community praised Adams’ decision.
“Thank you @nycmayor @ericadamsfornyc for listening to our #Williamsburg #Brooklyn community’s concerns! Your decision to adjust the dangerous section of the bike lane on Bedford Avenue is a crucial step towards prioritizing safety for our kids in #Williamsburg. Together, we can create a safer environment! #SafetyFirst,” the Satmar Headquarters X account, which posts about the Hasidic Satmar sect, wrote.
The Bedford Avenue bike lane has been at the center of political power struggles since it was installed. In 2009, the transportation department removed a 14-block stretch of the bike lane following complaints by the Hasidic community.
Activists went so far as to repaint the lane in response, though the crude lane didn’t last long.
The controversy never completely died down, even as cycling exploded in popularity. Last month, local Councilmember Lincoln Restler alleged a political rival was improperly collecting signatures to get on the ballot by falsely telling neighborhood residents they were signing onto a petition to remove the protected section of the Bedford bike lane. A judge ruled Restler had not presented sufficient evidence to kick the rival off the ballot.
Adams has previously outraged street safety advocates by reversing course on street safety redesigns. In Greenpoint, Adams abruptly scaled back the ambition of the redesign of McGuinness Boulevard, only to reverse himself again after allegations he’d been influenced by donors.
Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro has recently signaled he views street safety projects with skepticism.
Last week, Mastro wrote that the “lack of action” addressing public safety problems surrounding e-bikes was “hindering the city’s ability to advance bike lane and micromobility infrastructure and safety across the city.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
