By Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — New protective bike paths could be coming to the Upper West Side if neighborhood cyclists get their way.
Dozens of cyclists and supporters attended Community Board 7's general meeting Tuesday night to discuss a proposal to ask the city for protected bike paths in their neighborhood.
Protected bike paths, such as the ones already on 8th and 9th Avenues in Chelsea, are different than painted lanes because they are physically separated from vehicle traffic by a slightly raised concrete barrier, rows of plastic posts or parked cars.
Clark Vaccaro, who at 11 is one of Manhattan's youngest bicycle commuters, attended Tuesday's meeting in support of the proposal. Nearly every day, Vaccaro and his father Steve cycle nearly 2.5 miles from their home on the Upper East Side to Calhoun School on the Upper West. Though some of the journey is done in bicycle lanes, much is not.
"It's not easy. You're going past and people are opening their car doors," the sixth-grader said. "Another thing that's scary are the trucks."
The community board overwhelmingly passed a resolution to ask the Department of Transportation to study safety, traffic and business issues surrounding protected bicycle lanes and come up with a plan to build them on Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues from 59th Street to 110th Street. For cycling supporters, the vote was a victory.
"The Upper West Side is a heavily residential area. More and more people want to ride to work," said Nancy Lipsey, Director of Outdoor Jewish Adventures for Hazon, a community group that organizes bike rides in the city. "Right now there's a big gap in where they can ride."
There are already some bicycle lanes and protected paths on the Upper West Side, but advocates say those are not enough. Cross streets including 77th, 78th, 90th and 91st have painted lanes. And cyclists heading up or downtown can use paths in Central Park and Riverside Park.
"For kids, seniors, people who are just learning to ride in traffic, protected bike lanes make all the difference," Steve Vaccaro said. "Their tremendous value is they create a bridge to people who want to bike in New York, but are too afraid."
However, not everyone whole-heartedly supports the idea of building bike paths through the busiest parts of the neighborhood.
"Just because you have a protected lane doesn't mean [bicycle] traffic is going to go in one direction," said George Zeppenfeldt-Cestero of Community Board 7.
As the co-chair of the community board's business committee, Zeppenfeldt-Cestero said he is also concerned about traffic, parking and how new bike lanes would affect businesses and deliveries along the two avenues.
Board members hope those issues will be considered by the DOT as the plan moves forward.
