MTA Says No To Bike Lane On Verrazano Bridge

By on October 18, 2012  Traffic & Transit
Oct 182012
 

Image source: Joybot via Flickr.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials are putting the kibosh on an ambitious plan to make the Verrazano Bridge more bike and pedestrian-friendly, as reported by Paula Katinas for the Brooklyn Eagle.

The idea for a bike-pedestrian path as an appendix to the construction of a new HOV lane was first introduced by members of Community Board 10 at a Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting.

Unfortunately for visionaries such as Environmental Committee chair Bob Hudock, and Transportation Committee chair Brian Kieren, the MTA, which operates the Verrazano, is refusing to consider the possibility. Continue reading »

CB 10 Offers Alternative To DOT-Planned Bike Lanes

By on September 27, 2012  Traffic & Transit
Sep 272012
 

Image source: courtney_80 via Flickr.

Members of Community Board 10 know that more bike lanes are coming to Bay Ridge. But while they’ve warmed to the notion of a bike-friendly future, they’re still unhappy with the locations the DOT has chosen for the “hundreds of miles” of bike lanes it plans to add to Brooklyn neighborhoods over the next few years. Continue reading »

CB 10 Meets Monday, September 24 – Parks Committee Meeting Cancelled

By on September 19, 2012  Events
Sep 192012
 

Community Board 10 will be holding a General Meeting this coming Monday, September 24, at 7:15 p.m. in the Shore Hill Community Room [9000 Shore Road].

As a reminder, a CB 10 Parks Committee meeting that had been scheduled for tonight has been cancelled.

Among the items on Monday night’s agenda is a public hearing and vote regarding a street naming request. Under the proposal, 80th Street and 5th Avenue would be co-named for Charles Ahl. Ahl was CB 10′s first chairperson and the father of current board member, local business owner, and community activist Greg Ahl.

There will also be a hearing and vote for a proposed reduction in the number of required parking spaces for a property at 701-745 64th Street.

The Traffic and Transportation Committee is planning to announce which streets they’d like to see bike lanes installed on, followed by a discussion and vote.

The committee will also present a report on the DOT’s planned elimination of eight parking spaces on 4th Avenue and 65th Street. The parking spots would be removed in order to create a left turn lane.

The Zoning and Land Use Committee will make a presentation on PFI [Parking Fairness Initiative].

And finally, the Environmental Committee will update a previous report by the Association for Affordable Energy on energy efficient buildings and applicable Con Ed programs.

It Was Written: CB 10′s call for more bike lanes divined by blog editor

By on June 27, 2012  Featured story, News
Jun 272012
 

Image source: tpholland via Flickr.

Maybe instead of chicken entrails he used an old rusty bike chain?

Last week, Community Board 10′s Transportation Committee voted unanimously to request a number of new bike lanes for Bay Ridge, reports Noah Kazis for the soothsayer/ alternative transportation website Streetsblog. Continue reading »

Gounardes Comes Out In Favor Of More Bike Lanes For Bay Ridge

By on June 15, 2012  Featured story, Politics
Jun 152012
 

A controversial bike lane on Prospect Park West in Park Slope (Image source: Kai Brinker via Flickr).

State Senate hopeful Andrew Gounardes has come out in favor of  creating more bike lanes, as well as expanding Bay Ridge’s existing bike lane “network” to neighborhoods further north – such as Park Slope and Cobble Hill, writes Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Daily. Continue reading »

“This Is Not Holland” – Bike Lane Culture Clash Continues

By on April 30, 2012  Traffic & Transit
Apr 302012
 

Depending on which side of the bike lane debate you fall on, you may see it as a simple matter of self-absorbed yupsters trying to force their radical anti-car beliefs on salt-of-the-earth New Yorkers. Or maybe you view the issue as another case of close-minded old cranks standing in the way of progress?

An online urban journal recently documented the ongoing struggle between bike lane advocates and long time residents over control of the traffic lanes that crisscross all five boroughs.

Next American City reporter Brian Browdie used last year’s fight over a proposed bike lane on Bay Ridge Parkway – one which ended with Community Board 10 voting against it – as a textbook example of just how wide transportation preferences can vary among residents of different neighborhoods. And while those opinions may indicate larger socioeconomic and generational gaps, they are often formed as a result of geographic rather than cultural factors, such as the population density and the distance from Manhattan of a given area. Continue reading »