MANHATTAN — The community will have the chance to weigh in on crosstown bike lanes planned for six Upper East Side streets next month, according to Community Board 8.
The Department of Transportation will present its proposal for the bike lanes during a public meeting on Feb. 3, where residents will be able express any questions or concerns.
The painted lanes are planned for:
East 67th Street, from York to Fifth avenues
East 68th Street, from Fifth to York avenues
East 77th Street, from Cherokee Place to Fifth Avenue
East 78th Street, from Fifth Avenue to Cherokee Place
East 84th Street, from Fifth Avenue to the FDR Drive
and 85th Street, from East End to Fifth avenues
The lanes would not replace any parking spaces or travel lanes, according to the DOT and Scott Falk, CB 8's transportation committee co-chairman.
The community has largely been split on the idea of adding more bike lanes to the neighborhood.
CB 8's transportation committee passed a resolution on Nov. 4 asking the DOT to do a study on whether it would be feasible to install a network of crosstown bike lanes on the Upper East Side. But many residents who attended CB 8's full board meeting on Dec. 16 shot down the idea, saying the addition of bike lanes, especially on East 72nd Street, which they say is already too congested, would be dangerous.
"I think considering a bike lane on East 72nd Street is part foolish in ways that we can't begin to predict," said resident Richard Gellar at the time. "This is a residential neighborhood through and through and by and large, access to the curb for cars is an important part of our use of the neighborhood and a massive safety concern."
Currently, the Upper East Side only has crosstown bike routes on East 90th and East 91st streets and one protected bike lane going north on First Avenue, according to the DOT.
CB 8 officials said that the DOT was not looking at 72nd Street as an option.
The DOT will present its bike lane proposals at the next transportation committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 3. The venue is still to be determined.
