City Finally Breaks Ground on Chrystie Street 2-Way Bike Lane
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Baby steps notwithstanding, the highly anticipated two-way bike lane on Chrystie Street is now underway. Herewith, an update.
Groundbreak commenced just before the holiday weekend in the intersection of Canal Street, where contractors are remodeling the median strip. Upon completion, it’ll be situated ten feet to the west in order to accommodate the new bike route. Extending the skater-friendly median on Canal proper is also in the cards.
But this is just the first step.
Once the reconstruction of East Houston finishes up (if ever), we can likely expect the green paint and protected lane to follow shortly thereafter.
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The plan to reconfigure the Chrystie Street bike lane is nearly two years in the making. Community Board 3 first backed the project in February 2015. Department of Transportation didn’t officially green light until this past spring, though, after several months of research. Here is a quick summation of what’s happening…
- The two-way bike lane is relegated to the east side of Chrystie Street, protected by jersey barriers, flexible delineators, and parked cars. It eliminates the need for southbound cyclists to cross the street to link up with the path (current situation).
- Pedestrians benefit from the plan with the addition of four medians at Rivington, Stanton, and East Second Streets.
- The two-way bike lane allows for a seamless transition from Second Avenue to Chrystie Street. As it stands, southbound cyclists must cross over at Houston Street while heading southbound, only to cross back for Manhattan Bridge access.
- Adding a second southbound left turn lane at Delancey Street (protected signal), but at the expense of ten parking spots on the west side. The plan also includes the elimination of left-turn traffic from northbound motorists onto Delancey from Chrystie.
- There will reportedly be specific traffic signals for bikers at each intersection on Chrystie.
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Photo: DOT
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