Add Comptroller Scott Stringer to the list of New Yorkers terrified to bike to or from the Kosciuszko Bridge’s spacious new bike path.
In a letter to Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, the city’s top bean counter criticized the city’s existing plans for bike connections to and from the bikeway — and demanded an explanation for why the plans weren’t put in place in time for its opening this week.
“Any bike lane is only as good as its surrounding network,” Stringer wrote. “Without protected bikes lanes, sufficient lighting, and high-quality signage in the immediate vicinity, bicycle riders and pedestrians could be placed in harm’s way.”
Cyclists and cycling advocates have panned the city’s plans for bike lanes and markings approaching the path’s Brooklyn and Queens access points.
They argue that the unprotected bike lanes planned for the vicinity of the bridge aren’t safe enough to encourage New Yorkers to actually use the path, particularly given the concentration of cyclist fatalities this year in industrial areas like the ones surrounding the bridge.
Stringer’s letter echoed those arguments.
“Given the high volume of large trucks within the surrounding neighborhoods, sharrows and other half measures will simply not be sufficient,” he said.
In a statement, DOT spokesperson Scott Gastel said bike lane installations around the bridge will begin next week. He attributed the delay to the state’s accelerated timeline for the span, which opened four months ahead of schedule.
“We are exploring protected bike lane connections on both sides for the future,” Gastel said.