A bike lane would replace the westernmost traffic lane on the West Side Highway under a new proposal from Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
Levine’s bid to reduce crowding on the Hudson River Greenway that runs directly parallel and adjacent to the highway would slap green paint and concrete barriers directly on Route 9A — creating an alternative route for cyclists including e-bikers who are technically barred from the greenway path.
“Congestion on the Greenway, both between cyclists but also between cyclists and
pedestrians, has worsened significantly,” Levine wrote last week to the heads of the city and state Departments of Transportation.
“Installing a protected bike lane on Route 9A would solve both issues by easing congestion on the current path while creating a legal space for cyclists using electric bicycles, many of whom are immigrant, delivery workers who should not be ticketed for trying to work and travel.”
Under Levine’s proposal, the new bike lane would come in two stages — first between 57th Street, then above 57th Street. He suggested the plan be implemented with the start of congestion tolls that are expected to cut traffic in the Central Business District.
State lawmakers barred electric bicycles from the greenway path as part of the same 2020 legislation that made them street legal.
Several Manhattan community boards and elected officials have called on state DOT to put a bike lane directly on the highway.
In 2020, a state DOT rep warned the Hudson River Park Trust Advisory Council that the proposal could send car traffic spilling onto side streets, Streetsblog reported.