Crown Heights Bike Lane Blighted By Parked Cars

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN – Crown Heights drivers really enjoy bike lanes ... for parking.

Two bike lanes in Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens are among the city's top spots where cyclists complain their right of way is being blocked by parked cars, according to a new report.

The bike lanes on Bergen Street between Classon and Franklin avenues and on Lincoln Road between Flatbush and Bedford avenues have racked up dozens of complaints, according to the New York City-based data analysis website localize.city.

Localize.city analysts dug into the number of 311 complaints involving bike lane parking offenses that were filed between Sept. 4, 2017 and Sept 4, 2018.

Of the 4,230 complaints, the highest number were made in eight areas of Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, the website found. Five of those bike lanes were in Brooklyn.

"When a city prioritizes convenience for motorists above safety for bicyclists, drivers block bike lanes," Paul Steely White, the Executive Director for cycling advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. "That's not just annoying — it can also be deadly, as it forces people on bikes to merge into other lanes with mixed traffic."

The report came out one day after a Park Slope cyclist reported he was punched in the face by the driver he asked to move from the new Ninth Street bike lane.

These are the hot spot identified by Localize:

1. Long Island City: Vernon Boulevard near 44th Drive and 45th Road – 112 total complaints
2. Bay Ridge: Around 220 and 221 72nd St. – 94 complaints
3. Downtown Brooklyn: Smith and Fulton streets – 38 complaints
4. Downtown Brooklyn: Jay and Chapel streets – 36 complaints
5. Astoria: Vernon Boulevard, between 34th and 35th avenues – 31 complaints
6. Battery Park City: Between 65 to 69 West St. – 30 complaints
7. Crown Heights: 900 Bergen St. – 30 complaints
8. Prospect-Lefferts Gardens: Around 115 and 122 Lincoln Road – 28 complaints

Localize.city data scientist Michal Eisenberg noted that the number of violations might be higher than data shows because this 311 category is relatively new.

"Some cyclists may not even be aware that they can file such complaints," said Eisenberg. "But there are still some areas with a critical mass of complaints where cyclists are feeling especially frustrated when drivers block their lanes, potentially causing them to swerve into dangerous traffic."

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