Plans For UES Crosstown Bike Lanes, Bridge Access Revealed

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The city laid out plans on Wednesday for a pair of permanent Upper East Side bike lanes, as well as access to the East River waterfront and Queensboro Bridge — but a neighborhood community board postponed a vote on the new measures after nearly four hours of discussion.

The city aims to convert two temporary crosstown bike lanes on East 61st and 62nd streets into permanent, protected lanes, representatives from the Department of Transportation told Community Board 8's transportation committee during Wednesday's meeting.

More than 100 people watched as the DOT representatives promoted the benefits of the new lanes, which they said would reduce collisions; improve access to Central Park, the Queensboro Bridge and the East River Greenway; and bring the city closer to building a network of protected lanes crisscrossing the Upper East Side — a long-held goal of the community board's.

"Bike lanes make everybody safer — not just me and the people in our communities but also the essential workers who deliver our food and packages," said Devin Gould, who lives on 62nd Street.

Indeed, 61st and 62nd between Fifth and First avenues have ranked among the borough's most dangerous: three people have been killed and 24 have been seriously injured there since 2014, putting it in Manhattan's top 10 percent in those categories, according to DOT data.

Detractors who joined the meeting said they worried the lanes could block patient access to the Avantus Upper East Side Dialysis Center, and suggested they could worsen already-severe traffic on 62nd Street.

In response, DOT staff said the lanes would allow curbside access to the dialysis center, and presented data showing that travel times on the two streets actually decreased after the temporary lanes were installed last September.

Matt Bauer, president of the Madison Avenue BID, expressed concern that the lanes would force the removal of some outdoor dining setups, while another resident claimed they would do little to benefit neighborhood businesses.

"People biking from Queens are not going to spend money at Upper East Side restaurants," said Victoria Ordin, who later admitted that she had called in from Santa Barbara, Calif.

In addition to the bike lanes, the DOT also aims to open the gate that currently blocks the Queensboro Bridge's pedestrian off-ramp near 60th Street, which forces cyclists to do a hairpin turn and spits out all non-vehicle traffic onto First Avenue.

After more than three hours, the committee chose not to take up a resolution on whether to support the lanes, instead asking DOT to return for their next meeting on April 7 after considering the community's feedback.

Either way, the board has no power to stop the lanes, and the city plans to install them sometime in the spring or summer, DOT Borough Commissioner Ed Pincar said.

Previous coverage:

• Temporary Upper East Side Bike Lanes Could Be Made Permanent
• Upper East Siders Sharply Divided Over Temporary Bike Lane
• 2 New Bike Lanes Coming To Upper East Side, City Says