By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
LOWER EAST SIDE — A new set of bike lanes recently painted on the Lower East Side are aimed at diverting cyclists from a potentially dangerous stretch leading to and from the Williamsburg Bridge.
There were 94 collisions involving bicycles on Delancey Street between the Williamsburg Bridge and the Bowery from 1995 to 2005, according to Transportation Alternatives, a road safety group that has advocated for bike lanes on the stretch since 2008.
The new curbside lanes redirect riders exiting and entering the bridge on Delancey Street to Rivington, Stanton and Suffolk streets so cyclists can avoid contending with heavy two-way traffic on the major thoroughfare.
In January, a 74-year-old cyclist from the East Village was struck and killed by a school bus on Delancey Street near Ludlow Street.
The new lanes are marked with green paint and signage along Rivington Street between Pitt Street and the Bowery, on Stanton Street between Christie and Pitt streets, and on Suffolk Street between East Houston and Delancey streets.
Upon exiting the Williamsburg Bridge, riders can access the bikeways by turning north on to the Suffolk Street lane and connecting with the east-west lanes at either Rivington or Stanton streets.
“I think overall there’s a lot of support for [the lanes] and people think they’re great,” said Julia De Martini Day, a planner/advocate for Transportation Alternatives, which held a public forum in the neighborhood on Tuesday for its East Side Streets initiative, a program aimed at developing a comprehensive plan for pedestrian and cyclist safety on the Lower East Side.
She said that some cyclists in attendance expressed a desire to see better signage at the base of the Williamsburg guiding riders to the new lanes.
“It’s the best way to get around the neighborhood,” De Martini Day added of cycling in the area. “The more [lanes], the better, and people are really happy about what’s gone in.”
