Prince St In SoHo Will Get Bike-Friendly Signal Timing

SOHO, NY — Traffic lights will be re-timed to make it easier for cyclists to ride ahead along Prince Street in downtown Manhattan, city officials announced Wednesday.

Prince Street will get the "Green Wave" treatment in the next year to sync traffic lights so that they turn green for cyclists traveling 15 miles per hour — a safety treatment that has boosted bike traffic in Boerum Hill where the city's Department of Transportation launched a pilot about a year ago.

"Vision Zero means making sure people on bikes in every neighborhood feel safe — whether they're in Boerum Hill, Bath Beach or Bushwick," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

As cycling fatalities have reached more than two dozen so far this year, compared to 10 cyclist deaths in all of 2018, the "green wave" plan will expand the new signal timing to Prince Street in Manhattan, 43rd Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, and Clinton Street in Brooklyn in the next year.

The signal timing will be coordinated with cyclists who bike about 15 miles per hour, down from signals' current coordination with drivers going 25 miles per hour.

On Hoyt and Bond streets, bike volumes have increased, and though drivers have slowed slightly or remained the same speed, cars did not migrate to nearby streets, the mayor's office said.

The announcement was made as city officials celebrated the 100th protected bike lane built during Blasio's time as mayor.

"Through Vision Zero and the 'green wave,' this Administration has implemented and created key safety solutions — like the signal timing project in Boerum Hill — and outlined a blueprint for a citywide bike network," said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin.