mlcastle (a blog)

A Letter to the NYC Department of Transportation

I wrote a letter to the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation, urging the marking of a safe route between the new bike lanes on Allen and Pike Streets and the East River Greenway. Here’s a copy.

The Letter

Dear Commissioner Sadik-Khan and Borough Commissioner Forgione:

It has been a nice surprise over the past couple of months to see the new bike lanes and other improvements along the center of Allen and Pike Streets in lower Manhattan. These cover a route that I use frequently, and I feel much safer in these new, clearly-striped lanes.

However, there is one part of the project which I feel has been overlooked: at the southern end of Pike Street, I often wish to turn onto the East River Greenway, and when returning, I often wish to turn from the Greenway north onto Pike Street. However, there are no clear markings or signals for how to make this turn. There is not even a curb cut to get on and off of the Greenway. In addition, crossing the busy car traffic on South Street always feels unsafe, especially when coming off of the Greenway onto Pike Street, when there are no visible traffic signals and cars do not generally expect my presence.

I hope that the project can be extended to encompass a safer, easier connection between two of Manhattan’s best bike routes, and I await hearing your response on this issue.

And if you’d like to see it exactly as sent, you can view the letter as a PDF.

Responses

Update November 5, 2009: I received a response from the DOT.

Update March 15, 2010: I received another response, this time more detailed and by email:

Dear Mr. Castleman,

This is in response to your October 23, 2009 email regarding the bicycle lane on Pike Street. We apologize for the delay in response.

As you may be aware, DOT recently concluded an unprecedented three-year plan to expand New York City’s on-street bicycle network by 200 miles and improve safety for cyclists on the streets; 204.5 miles was the final total. These bicycle lanes have encouraged a low-cost, healthful mode of transportation and provided measurable safety improvements to all street users.

Thank you for reporting your observations of a missing ramp and unclear markings at the intersection of Pike Street and South Street. Currently, cyclists should use the pedestrian ramps. In the near future the malls and the East River Esplanade will be reconstructed; when those two projects are implemented the crossing will occur in the middle along with curb ramps.

Thank you for your interest in bicycling in New York City.

Sincerely,

Bicycle Program
NYC Dept. of Transportation