Lower East Side
Streetsblog Basics
Safer, More Livable Streets for the East Side — The Campaign Heats Up
Advocates and volunteers working for protected bike paths on the East Side, flush from last month's highly encouraging Community Board 8 vote, delivered more than a thousand handwritten letters yesterday to City Hall, supporting protected bike lanes on First and Second Avenues. Keep an eye on this story. It's a big one.
November 6, 2009
Eyes on the Street: WillyB @ Delancey — Bring on the Stencils
Fresh markings are going down on the revamped approach to the Williamsburg Bridge at Delancey Street. Courtesy of Adopt-a-Bike Lane volunteer leader Marin Tockman, here's what the site looked like as of yesterday afternoon. Seems like a marked, one-block connection to the median at Suffolk Street is imminent.
October 27, 2009
Eyes on the Street: A Smoother Approach to the Willy-B
We've received a few reports in the past week about construction work on the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge. DOT's press office says six bike ramps are being installed, and we hear from observers on the ground that construction is largely complete as of this morning: The bridge approach at Delancey and Clinton Street has three new curb cuts, as does the raised median at Suffolk Street. Now cyclists can get on and off the bike path without having to dismount or hop the curb.
October 21, 2009
Turn Out Tonight to Support Livable Streets With Staying Power
Tonight's Manhattan CB3 committee meeting is an important one for advocates looking to make the current round of pedestrian and bike improvements on Allen and Pike Streets more permanent. This is a major reclamation project [PDF] stretching from Houston to the East River and a big success for bottom-up planning.
September 9, 2009
Eyes on the Street: A Safer, More Sociable Boulevard Takes Shape
A reader sends this view of Pike Street, taken from the Manhattan Bridge bike path late last week. You'll notice the square of light pavement connecting two mall segments. That's the intersection with Monroe Street, one of four locations slated for pedestrian plazas in DOT's most recent plan for Pike and Allen Streets [PDF]. A center median protected bike path running from Houston Street down to the water -- the first of its kind in New York City, I believe, depending on how you categorize the Sands Street bike path -- is also in the works. DOT's project presentation characterizes these changes as interim
improvements that can help generate support for further funding and
more permanent construction.
August 31, 2009
District 1 Council Candidates: Safer Streets? Less Traffic? No Thanks.
Reader Ian Dutton sends this dispatch from last night's candidate debate for the District 1 City Council seat representing Lower Manhattan, organized by the Downtown Express and the Villager. If you're a District 1 resident who values safer streets and a well-funded transit system, tough luck.
August 18, 2009
Report: NYPD Cruiser Hits Eight Pedestrians on LES [Updated]
A 1010 WINS report appears to confirm a comment from wooDave on what sounds like a horrific pedestrian-involved crash in the East Village:
June 30, 2009
Safer Streets Under Fire at Gerson “Town Hall”
Lower Manhattan City Council rep Alan Gerson held a "transportation town hall" Monday night, following up on his pledge last year to closely monitor creeping safety enhancements to New York streets. Fellow City Council member John Liu, a candidate for comptroller, also made an appearance at the forum.
May 6, 2009
Despite Bowery Death Toll, NYPD Decides Cyclists are the Real Menace
A reader reports of another NYPD cyclist crackdown, this time on the Lower East Side.
May 1, 2009
Bigger Sidewalks But No Protected Bike Lane for Houston Street
The reconstruction of East Houston Street will include wider medians, bigger sidewalks, fewer traffic lanes, and a new bike lane. But instead of installing a physically protected path for cyclists, the city plans to paint a buffered, Class 2 lane. The project, which received funds freed up by stimulus spending, will go out to bid this summer.
April 3, 2009