COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 6-12, 2019 27
New bridge lacks
proper cycling
paths: Stringer
Gov. Andrew Cuomo opened the second span of the new Kosciuszko
Bridge last Thursday, but cyclists and pedestrians had
diffi culty fi nding safe passage on to it. Governor Cuomo’s offi ce
BY BILL PARRY
While Gov. Andrew
Cuomo was celebrating
the ribbon-cutting of the
second span of the new
Kosciuszko Bridge, which
opened on time and four
years later, Comptroller
Scott Stringer demanded
answers on why the city
was so far behind in providing
proper infrastructure
that would protect
cyclists and pedestrians
trying to make their way
onto the bridge’s 20-foot
wide pathway that has
been provided for them.
Stringer fi red off a
letter to DOT Commissioner
Polly Trottenberg
on Aug. 29, the day the
span opened, requesting
a full accounting of why
upgraded bike lanes and
pedestrian walkways
were not ready on the approach
roads that lead to
the new K-Bridge in time
for its opening.
“Just as no transportation
department would
open up a highway before
constructing on- and offramps,
it is utterly baffl
ing that a new bike and
pedestrian path could be
introduced without suffi
cient connecting infrastructure,
on Day One,”
Stringer said. “The rebuilt
Kosciuszko Bridge
and the new pedestrian
and cycling path are critical
arteries, but without
protected bike lanes, suffi
cient lighting, and highquality
signage in the immediate
vicinity, cyclists
and pedestrians could be
placed in harm’s way.”
Stringer’s letter highlighted
the urgent need
for action as the city confronts
cyclist and pedestrian
safety across the
fi ve boroughs. Already
this year 19 cyclists have
been killed, nearly twice
the number in all of 2018,
which according to the
DOT have occurred disproportionately
in primarily
industrial areas
that have experienced
signifi cant population
growth.
“This is a matter of
life and death,” Stinger
said. “At a time when
the city is reeling from a
spate of cyclist fatalities,
a comprehensive plan
must be implemented.”
Stringer also called
for traffi c calming measures
on and around the
K-Bridge and the DOT
says a plan is in the
works.
“Markings and signage
work begins next.
We had been planning
to implement in the fall,
though the State accelerated
the opening of the
path,” a DOT spokesperson
said. “Most of the
lanes will be standard
on-street, though Laurel
Hill Boulevard will be
protected, we are exploring
protected bike lane
connections on both sides
for the future as noted in
the Green Wave plan.”
The $58.4 million
Green Wave plan was announced
by Mayor Bill de
Blasio in July and will
expand the bike lane network
and increase law
enforcement across the
fi ve boroughs.
MAX