Downtown Brooklyn’s Burgeoning Bicycle Network

Thanks to the City DOT's planned bike lanes and signed routes in Downtown Brooklyn, the area will soon have New York City’s most connected neighborhood bicycle network. The City plans to add seven bike lanes in Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn and Park Slope in June. These new lanes will be a boon to bicyclists because they will connect with each other, existing lanes and the Manhattan Bridge path. Congratulations to the City DOT for creating this great bike network.

New Bike Lanes

• Myrtle Ave, eastbound from Flatbush to Washington Ave
• DeKalb Ave, westbound from Cumberland St to Flatbush Ave
• Ashland Pl/Navy St, two-way between DeKalb Ave and Sands St
• Sands St, eastbound from Navy to Jay St
• Jay St, southbound from Sands to Tillary
• Boerum Pl, southbound from Atlantic Avenue to Bergen St
• 3rd Ave, southbound from 3rd to 15th St

The DOT will also add signed bike routes (no on-street markings) to DeKalb Avenue, westbound from Hall to Cumberland Streets and Smith Street, northbound from Bergen to Fulton Streets. On these streets, and on Jay Street (see page 5) the agency should install shared lane pavement markings. This marking features a standard six-foot high bicycle symbol, but without bike lane stripes. The symbols make motorists more aware of cyclists and are an easy way to connect bike lanes and paths. The DOT should also install directional signs to connect the new and existing lanes, particularly between the Bergen and Clinton Streets bike lanes and the Henry and Dean Streets lanes.

The Myrtle and Third Avenue, and Sands and Jay Street lanes are one-way bike lanes on two-way streets, and the DOT should install directional arrows in them. Bicycling against traffic is illegal and dangerous; head-on collisions are more likely to result in serious injury or death. Motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists do not expect wrong-way traffic.

Write to the DOT and ask the agency to stripe the 8th Avenue bike lane.
Iris Weinshall, Commissioner
NYC Department of Transportation
40 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013

The DOT's new bike lanes (red) connect to existing paths and lanes (black).

Read the latest news on this subject.