Williamsburg Has 2 Of Most Dangerous Intersections For Cyclists

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — As cyclist deaths in the city continue to rise this year, urban planners have identified a list of dangerous intersections not well equipped to keep the rising cyclist population safe. Two of those intersections are just a few blocks from each other in Williamsburg.

The Grand Avenue and Grand Street intersection, which bike activists have complained about for years, tied for seventh place with the Roebling Street and South 4th Street intersection on a list of the most dangerous spots across the city for cyclists released by researchers at Localize.city.

Both of the intersections had more than a dozen injuries between 2014 and 2018, including 14 at the Graham Avenue and Grand Street spot and 13 injuries and one fatality at the Roebling and South 4th intersection, researchers found.

At Roebing and South 4th at least, the researchers were hopeful that those numbers might turn around.

“Before 2017, the biking expressway over the Williamsburg Bridge ended at this chaotic intersection with poorly marked and inadequate bike lanes,” Localize.city urban planner Dan Levine said. “New protected lanes feeding to the bridge should make the route safer.”

But, at the Graham Avenue and Grand Street intersection, where transportation officials finished adding a bike lane earlier this year, the urban planners said that the "narrow, crowded, business-lined Grand Street" is difficult for cyclists to navigate given double-parked cars and trucks that often block the bike lanes.

The two Williamsburg intersections joined a few other spots in Brooklyn that made the list, including two off of Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. One of those intersections, at the corner of Tillary Street and Jay Street tied for the second most dangerous in the city with 20 injuries, while the other, at Myrtle Avenue, tied for seventh.

The study comes out as the city is working to address a spike in cyclist deaths this year. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $58 million plan to increase bike lanes and traffic enforcements after 17 cyclists died so far in 2019, up from 10 in all of 2018.

That count went up to 18 on Monday when another cyclist was killedin Sunset Park.

"Experts and the city already know where the dangerous intersections are and what makes them so unsafe," Sklar said. "Our job at Localize.city is to ensure all New Yorkers are informed. If you're thinking about taking up cycling you should know if the intersections and streets near your home are dangerous. If you're moving and cycling is important to you, we want you to find a home that will be safe to cycle to and from."

Here are the other intersections that Localize.city determined to be the most dangerous: