Dyckman Street Bike Lane Plan Stalls in Community Board Committee

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — A Department of Transportation (DOT) plan to construct a protected bike lane on Dyckman Street that would stretch from Broadway to 10th Avenue was only partially approved Monday night by Community Board 12's transportation committee.

The committee decided to approve installing the bike lanes from 10th to Nagle avenues, but decided against voting on the rest of the plan, which covers a busier stretch of Dyckman street that's home to many local businesses, Streetsblog reported.

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez sent a statement to Patch saying he was pleased part of the DOT's plan passed, but will push to have bike lanes cover the full stretch of Dyckman street.

"I'm a big believer in bike lanes and am thankful that Community Board 12 have supported real safety measures aimed at protecting cyclists along Dyckman Street east of Nagle Avenue. I look forward to working out the concerns of the community board and other stakeholders so that we can move the full project forward as soon as possible, including from Broadway to Nagle. I know double parking and the concerns of business owners remain challenges, but I think they are surmountable through conversation, education and enforcement, and should not ultimately hinder the safety of street users uptown, especially along a corridor linking east and west side greenways."

The stretch of Dyckman street between Broadway and Nagle Avenue currently has no protection in place for cyclists. The DOT plan would remove one lane of car traffic in each direction on Dyckman street and install a bike lane that would be located between the remaining travel lane and curbside parking. The plan would also call for the creation of left turn lanes, according to the DOT presentation.

The portion of the plan that the transportation committee did approve — from 10th to Nagle avenues — will improve upon cyclist protections already in place. The plan calls for the removal of existing bike lanes and buffers from both sides of the street and the construction of a two-way protected bike lane.

The DOT plan also includes the construction of two pedestrian islands on the intersections of Dyckman Street and Vermileya and Post avenues.

The CB 12 transportation committee decided not to vote on the bike lane between Broadway and Nagle Avenue due to concerns voiced Monday by Dyckman street business owners, and drivers who were concern about parking Streetsblog reported. The committee asked the DOT to coordinate with the Community Board to hold a workshop addressing the concerns, according to the report.

Community Board 12 will meet in full on December 20.

Check out Streetsblog's full article here.

Photo courtesy of New York City Department of Transportation