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Video: PPW Bike Lane Community Board Rant-A-Thon
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 11, 2011
Modified Mar 11, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 11, 2011
Modified Mar 11, 2011
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"It's open night mic on bike lanes tonight," announced Community Board 6 Chairman Daniel Kummer at the start of last night's public hearing on the infamous Prospect Park West bike lane in Park Slope. (You may have read about it... in the UK's Guardian!) The two-and-a-half hour meeting, held in the muggy auditorium at John Jay High School, drew an overwhelming number of bike lane supporters. Out of an estimated 350 people in attendance, perhaps a dozen spoke against the bike lane through the course of the evening. Here's video of the most spirited bike lane boosters and detractors:
The more affluent and well-connected critics who've orchestrated a lawsuit against the DOT remained in the shadows—instead, Park Slope seniors who oppose the bike lane became the face of the opposition. They make for good optics; after all, what heartless cycling Nazi could dismiss the concerns of poor old Aunt Mae? Well, some could. When one Park Slope woman of a certain age explained that because the bike lane ran both ways, she didn't know which way to look anymore when crossing the street, the crowd hooted, "BOTH WAYS!"
Criticism from the seniors focused on the floating parking lane that separates the bike lane from the street. Some pointed out that when motorists need to park, they choke traffic on PPW down to one lane. Others pointed out that when parking a car full of kids bound for the park, it was difficult to stop the youngsters from bursting out of the car and into oncoming bicyclist traffic. "I believe it is going to be human sacrifice that will bring this bike lane to an end," declared one opponent. Some objected to the loss of bus service because of the bike lane, others to the mean comments on the Internet.
Ultimately, the meeting amounted to a big bike lane pep rally, with one cyclist after another taking the mic to thank the Community Board and the DOT for making Prospect Park West safer. The committee listened attentively to both pro and con arguments, and will now decide whether to approve proposed changes to theoretically improve the bike lane. These include narrowing the buffer between the bike lane and the parking lane in order to widen the traffic lanes, adding rumble strips in bike lanes leading up to intersections, more loading and unloading zones, and aesthetic changes to bring the bike lane "more in line with historic Park Slope." Meanwhile, the critics are taking legal action to get the whole thing erased.
Additional reporting by Krista Ciminera
Tagged
bike lane
bike lanes
brooklyn
cyclists
nbbl
park slope
PPW bike lane
prospect park west
seniors for safety
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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