Bike Lanes for Co-op City

To:  Bronx Community Board 10 & NYC DOT

On behalf of the members of Safe Streets Advocacy & Cycling, and the Co-op City community as a whole, I am formally requesting that bike lanes be installed on the public streets in Co-op City (10475). This written request comes after presenting the idea at Bronx Community Board 10 Municipal Services Committee meeting on April 6th, 2009.

The bike lanes being requested have been proposed year after year on the official NYC Cycling Map, published by the NYC Departments of City Planning and Transportation. According to this map, the streets proposed are Bartow Ave, Co-op City Blvd, Pear Tree Ave into Conner Street, Tillotson Ave, and Baychester Ave. Note: Section 5 will be getting a bike path as part of the Hutchinson River Greenway project slated to be completed in 2010.

The proposed streets ARE wide enough to support the bike lanes. In fact, most streets are too wide and encourage speeding.

As an example, Co-op City Blvd is so wide that between 2003-2005 it was configured for 4 lanes IN EACH DIRECTION, 2 travel lanes and 2 parking lanes. That's 8 lanes total. This street was designed more like a parkway than a residential street.

Properly configuring the streets would also help reduce speeding.

If prioritized, the first streets that should get the bike lanes are Co-op City Blvd, and Bartow Ave, particularly the section between the boulevard and the drawbridge. This would give most residents a direct on-street route to the future entrance of the Hutchinson River Greenway and access into Pelham Bay Park, something desperately needed and long overdue.

I'd also like the City to consider a Cycle-Track design for Co-op City as it has in other parts of NYC. A cycle-track is a protected bike lane which uses the parked cars as a barrier between the cyclists and the moving traffic. The street would be configured as such: median, 2 travel lanes, parking lane, bike lane, and then the sidewalk.

The Cycle-Track would NOT reduce parking, and would NOT cost any more than the typical bike lane. Again, the only difference would be that the bike lane would be painted between the parked car and the sidewalk.

Finally, I’d like to say that these bike lanes would not only help the City of New York reach its goal of expanding its on-street bike network, but it would also help Safe Streets Advocacy & Cycling promote biking for fun, fitness and transportation.

In an area where obesity and the asthma rate are very high, getting people active is very important, and cycling is a great option. In addition, this would complement the Hutchinson River Greenway project, as well as a future 222nd Street bike lane.

Please sign this petition if you're in favor of getting these on-street bike lanes installed in Co-op City.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Bike Lanes for Co-op City Petition to Bronx Community Board 10 & NYC DOT was created by Safe Streets, Advocacy & Cycling and written by Mel Rodriguez (mel@safestreetsincoop.org).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.