Manhattan rolls out new bike lanes

New bike lanes are being rolled out on Manhattan's East Side to the cheers of cyclists and environmentalists and the chagrin of pedestrians and drivers who say the paths aren't the safest traffic solution.

Construction on lanes stretching through Murray Hill and Turtle Bay will take about six more weeks to complete, according to city transportation department officials.

"People are really excited," said Brian Pierce, manager of Sid's Bikes, a repair and retail shop on East 34th Street, just a block from where work is under way. "We're not in a bad spot right now as far as bike lanes are concerned."

The new lanes -- a protected bike path with vehicle parking from 34th to 49th streets on First Avenue and lanes to be shared with vehicle traffic from 49th to 57th streets on First Avenue and 34th to 59th streets on Second Avenue -- are an extension of those already in place farther south from Houston to 34th streets.

Community Board 6 approved them by a 34 to 5 vote in June, citing statistics that show "traffic-calming" lanes in downtown Manhattan resulted in fewer crashes and injuries involving bicycles.

A Turtle Bay resident, Bruce Silberblatt, said that despite the numbers, he sees the bike lanes threatening the safety of both pedestrians like himself and cyclists.

"There's an ungodly mixture of traffic during rush hour," said Silberblatt, of the nonprofit neighborhood group Turtle Bay Association. He listed the ramp for the Queensboro Bridge and the tunnel by the United Nations as dangerous spots for cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians to meet.

"Whether the bike lanes work depends on whether the bikers obey the laws: Respect right of way, don't ride on sidewalks, don't run red lights," Silberblatt said. "I fear for a biker getting plastered on the side of a turning bus."

Drivers in the neighborhood say they're losing much-needed road space as well as 71 parking spaces to the bike lanes.

The East Side bike lanes put Mayor Michael Bloomberg 2.4 miles closer to his PlaNYC goal of having 1,800 miles in place by 2030. More than 250 miles have been installed in the past four years.

"The neatest thing about them [the new lanes] is that they connect bikers to the Queensboro Bridge, from Manhattan to Queens and back," said Michael Murphy, spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit bicycling advocacy group. "Bicycling is a five-borough phenomenon and this is a nice little piece of interborough justice."

Murphy is confident the bike lanes -- added as part of the Select Bus Service project, which has off-board fare collection and bus-only lanes to speed up service -- will soon extend farther north, along the bus route to 125th Street in East Harlem.

"DOT will continue to work with community groups along the entire corridor on any further safety improvements, including bicycle facilities," said city transportation department spokesman Montgomery Dean. He noted the existing bike lane on First Avenue from 72nd to 125th streets.

Cyclist Daniel Schwarz, 26, a Northport native now living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and working at Sid's Bikes, seemed to agree with bike-lane opponents that the city's efforts are futile. Bike lanes can be more dangerous than the road itself, he said.

"Drivers are always turning into the lane, and walkers just see it as an extension of the sidewalk," Schwarz said. "Bike lanes are a pain."