43rd Avenue. near 48th Street (Photo: Nathaly Pesantez)
Oct. 31, 2019. By Shane O’Brien
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that he plans to make 43rd Avenue more bicycle friendly by adjusting traffic light sequences to cycling speed as part of the Vision Zero Program.
The city is planning on implementing its new “Green Wave” signal timing on the avenue in 2020 which sets traffic lights to accommodate cyclists traveling at about 15 miles per hour.
Typically, lights turn green to accommodate a car driving at the legal speed limit of 20 miles per hour on the thoroughfare.
Green Wave Signalling was introduced in a pilot program along Hoyt and Bond Streets in Brooklyn this year and the mayor’s office argues that it increased bike traffic on both streets and made journeys quicker, safer and less stressful as it allowed cyclists to comfortably ride without stopping.
The pilot program also saw vehicle speeds drop slightly, according to the mayor’s office.
The city is also implementing Green Wave Signal Timing on Prince Street in SoHo and Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights.
De Blasio said that the city was committed to ensuring the safety of every bike rider in New York City feels safe. The mayor was speaking on Oct. 23 at the ribbon cutting of the 100th mile of protected bike lanes installed since he became mayor.
“Vision Zero means making sure people on bikes in every neighborhood feel safe—whether they’re in Boerum Hill, Bath Beach or Bushwick,” de Blasio said. “We’ve installed 100 miles of protected bike lanes—more than any administration in history—and are not stopping there. With our ‘green wave’ plan, we’re doubling down on our commitment to end senseless traffic fatalities.”
The mayor’s press conference came just days before the City Council voted to install an additional 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of protected bus lanes across the city over 5 years–starting in 2022.
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24 Comments
SuperSmitty – that’s when a lot of stores get their deliveries! These are also the companies (and people driving to work) who have to pay to register, get inspected, pay for renewed licenses and pay high insurance premiums. How much do the bicyclists pay? NOTHING! They also don’t have to pay tolls, meters or for a garage! Bicylists and their hardly-ever used lanes are nothing but hazards! Traffic rules – red lights, stop signs, yield, etc. don’t seem to apply to them.
Parking an entitlement at the cost of the regular tax payer on public streets- pay for your parking, there are far less complaints about the film crews that vanish ten blocks of parking at a time, where is the pay off to the community. Sunnyside residents have their priorities in the wrong places. Entitled homeowners lapping up to the public good- except for saving bikers ( and kids on bikes ) lives.
The battery powered bikes fly downhill on 43rd at twice the speed of a car that is technically speeding then
Yes, I agree. I bike every day to the gym and see that all the time. Mostly it is guys on ebikes but not always. I always yell “wrong way!” but it doesn’t matter since they are speeding and usually with earbuds. They don’t care.
Bikes created all these problems
The only real solution is to ban motor vehicular traffic except from 9 PM until 5 AM. Less pollution, fewer traffic fatalities, less noise (even factoring in the moaning of car owners.)
and no reason to ride 60lbs of metal like you are auditioning for the Tour De France
and JVB is all for this – a total disgrace for sure
people want to get where they are going in a timely fashion…speed limit used to be 30 mph….never had problems until generation hipster showed up with bikes…remember when young hot babes liked cool muscle cars and masculine men?…now they like eyebrow tweezed metro sexual douches on bikes pretending to save the environment….sad day for america
You seem to have some strong opinions. This is an article about traffic lights btw.
Hey bikers, I have a solution. If you don’t want to die, don’t ride your bike in the street.
Who’s going to protect the pedestrians from the bicyclists who run the red lights anyway? This mayor just gets more and more myopic and moronic by the day.
I see all these “thumbs down” marks next to comments that dare suggest that bike riders frequently violate traffic laws. Can’t one simultaneously support cyclists and adherence to traffic laws? Why can’t cycling proponents admit that, in addition to promoting safer car driving habits, there’s a true need to promote safer bike riding.
Ban cars
I used to think like a pedestrian, until I started cycling! Then I used to think like a cyclist, until I started driving! Now that I understand all three, because I have developed real-world experiences in all three areas, I’ve grown to respect all modes of transportation. I realize that I was wrong because I simply didn’t understand and that we all need to yield to each other, collaborate and respect one another for things to remain fluid. Anything less hinders the delicate balance desperately needed in this beautiful city of ours.
How will cyclists going thru red lights be addressed by DiClownio?
The Mayor, is creating congestion in Queens. He accomadating cyclist. Is a great things, but at what cost?
Think about. Shorten traffic will lead to congestion. It’s will cause heavier condense fumes on this avenue. It will cause noise pollution, and so on. People homes are near and on 43 st. I know the area well. It is not a dangerous road.. I believe the DOT lives around the area. It’s insane. Something needs to be done. In many cases less is more. This green new deal, one of the socialist democrats agenda, will cost problems for all New York city residents.
truly comical…bicyclists don’t stop at red lights anyway.
Why don’t the bike jus obey the traffic laws
This will only result in more car traffic backups.
More traffic =more pollution
Bike lanes = more pollution
I happen to truly think more bike riding is good for people, our city and the planet. However, on a daily basis I encounter bike riders heading in the wrong direction on one way streets. Does anyone else notice this? It is tremendously dangerous for bikers, pedestrians and drivers. I’m tired of hearing about efforts to promote bike riding that completely ignore the fact that many, many bicyclists appear to have no idea that they are supposed to obey traffic laws.
they dont pay attention to lights
Bill deBlasio doesn’t even know where 43d Avenue is. He should come down and see the delivery guys riding the wrong way on the bike lanes.
There is absolutely no reason to drive thousands of pounds of metal faster than 15MPH on 43rd avenue.