Mayor de Blasio Announces Major Progress on Green Wave Plan to Make Streets Safer for Cyclists

February 19, 2020

Since 2014, City has built over 100 miles of protected bike lanes; in 2020, City will construct 10 new miles of protected bike lanes in Manhattan

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner Polly Trottenberg today released a progress report  on the Green Wave, the City’s plan to make streets safer for cyclists. The City has built 104 miles of protected bike lanes (PBLs) since 2014, including 21.4 miles completed in 2019. The de Blasio Administration has built over 400 miles of bike lanes since 2014.

The City will also construct approximately 10 new miles of protected bike lanes in Manhattan in 2020, including completing the Central Park West northbound protected lane and bringing the 6th Avenue northbound lane through Midtown to Central Park. These new projects are part of the Green Wave commitment to build 30 PBL miles across the city this year.

“No loss of life on our streets is acceptable,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are deepening our efforts to protect cyclists and make our streets safer for all New Yorkers. We will not stop until we have finally reached Vision Zero.”

“While we have seen critical safety measures put into place since launching the Green Wave plan last summer, this year we are committing to an unprecedented amount of protected bike lanes throughout New York City – including around 10 miles in Manhattan,” said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. “This Administration remains laser-focused on ensuring our streets are safe and accessible for all New Yorkers.”

“We once again thank the Mayor for his leadership on the Green Wave, which has really forced DOT to up our game,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.  “Our progress report shows we have done a lot for cyclist safety since last summer, but we have a lot more planned – including all over Manhattan.  Over the last several years, one of every five protected bike lane miles in America has been built within New York City, and this year, we will do even more.”

Green Wave Progress Report

Unveiled in July 2019, the Green Wave lays out an ambitious approach to address the rise in cycling fatalities, including by increasing the annual production of PBLs from 20 miles in 2019 to 30 miles each in 2020 and 2021. The report card released today announced that DOT completed 21.4 PBL miles last year and is on its way toward reaching its goal of 30 miles this year.

DOT has focused much of its work on 10 Brooklyn and Queens’s community boards that have high rates of cyclists killed or seriously injured and limited cycling infrastructure.  The Administration targeted 75 miles of bike lanes in these Priority Districts by 2022 and today’s progress report notes 37.5 miles have been completed since 2017.  Traffic-calming turn treatments will also be installed at the 50 most dangerous intersections for cyclists by the end of 2020 and DOT will increase protection on existing protected bike lanes.

As part of Green Wave, the Administration also announced progress in three additional areas of focus between DOT and NYPD, including the Truck Safety Task Force, the passage of the Leading Pedestrian Rule for cyclists and DOT’s continued public outreach efforts.


Manhattan Protected Bike Lanes

In 2020, Manhattan will see its largest ever single-year addition of protected bike lanes, approximately ten miles, to help fill out the borough’s already extensive network. The projects are as follows:

• 6th Avenue, Midtown: A protected lane along 6th Avenue will be added in Midtown, extending the existing uptown lane from Herald Square to Central Park. 

• Central Park West, Upper West Side: The second phase of this uptown lane will be completed in 2020, extending to 110th Street.

• 5th Avenue, Harlem: A new two-way protected lane will be installed from 120th to 110th Streets connecting Central Park and Marcus Garvey Park.

• St Nicholas Avenue, Washington Heights: Protected lanes will be added in both directions between 165th and 170th Streets.

• Manhattan Waterfront Greenway connection, Lower East Side: A new protected route will be added in Alphabet City to accommodate greenway riders during East River Park construction.

• Lower Manhattan Network: DOT will fill in the protected-lane network on several critical corridors in Lower Manhattan including lower Broadway, Whitehall Street, West Broadway, Varick Street, Church Street and 6th Avenue.

• Queensboro Bridge Connectors, Midtown: PBLs will be added to several crosstown approaches to the bridge.

• Additional Crosstown Lanes, Midtown: DOT is finalizing the most feasible streets on which to add a new set of crosstown lanes to complement the crosstown lanes that have been added since 2018 on 26th/29th and 52nd/ 55th Streets.

After community outreach scheduled for this year and pending completion of water main work by the Department of Design and Construction, a southbound protected lane along 2nd Avenue in Midtown will be constructed between 42nd and 34th Streets, closing the last remaining gap in the 5-mile 2nd Avenue protected bike lane.

“To build a 21st century city where New Yorkers can get around efficiently, safely, and sustainably it is critical that we have a citywide network of interconnected protected bike lanes,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “Far too many cyclists were lost to traffic violence last year and we must do more to protect people on two wheels. I look forward to continuing to work with DOT to ramp up protected bike lanes and safe streets infrastructure around the city in the years to come.”

“New York City will be the most cyclists and pedestrian friendly City in the nation. I applaud Mayor de Blasio, DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, advocates and colleagues for all their work in expanding protected bike lanes across the 5 boroughs,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee. “As Transportation Committee Chairman I have made cyclist and pedestrian safety a top priority. This year our goals is to increase the number of miles of protected bike lanes constructed in underserved and transit desert areas. I will continue working alongside Mayor de Blasio, DOT Commissioner Trottenberg, the Transportation Committee, and advocates to ensure we continue expanding road safety protections for all New Yorkers.” 

“Nearly 460,000 bike rides take place in New York City every day, but in 2019, 29 cyclists were killed on our streets,” said State Senator Brad Hoylman.“We need to ensure New Yorkers can leave home and come back safely no matter how they’re traveling. I applaud Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Trottenberg for today’s announcement of expanded bike lanes in Manhattan, which are a much-needed safety improvement for our borough.”

“Protected bike lanes make our streets safer for all New Yorkers,” said Council Member Keith Powers. “From Midtown, down 6th Avenue, over to the Greenway and, finally, with the full completion of the 2nd Avenue gap by the Queens Midtown Tunnel, these new protected bike lanes will ensure connectivity for cyclists and enact protections that will benefit everyone. I thank the Mayor and Department of Transportation for committing to safer streets, as well as advocates for pushing for these upgrades.”

"I want to thank DOT for moving forward with these 10 miles of new protected bike lanes across Manhattan,” said Councilwoman Carlina Rivera. “These protected lanes will save lives and get more New Yorkers on bikes at a critical moment when our city must do more to promote climate-friendly transportation options. I look forward to working with DOT and our community as the implementation process begins and can't wait to be riding in new protected bike lanes in my District soon.”  

"We’re pleased to learn that Mayor de Blasio and the Department of Transportation will follow through on the Green Wave plan by filling gaps in the protected bike lane network and extending several key routes in Manhattan,” said Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris. "Unsafe streets are the number one barrier to riding a bicycle in New York, so we’re eager to work together to create a safe environment for all people who bike or hope to bike in this city.”

“It’s a second holiday season for city bike riders! 2nd Avenue and 6th Avenue bike lanes to be completed," said Jon Orcutt, Advocacy Director at Bike New York. ”The long wait for a Queensboro Bridge-Central Park bike connection will be over. Thanks to Commissioner Trottenberg and everyone at DOT for these new protected bike lane plans.”

“This is another great step toward creating a fully connected network of protected bike lanes across New York City,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC. “Extending physical separation on 6th Avenue all the way to Central Park will provide an important, safe northbound cycling route, and the Fifth Avenue and St. Nicholas and Avenue C lanes will bring top-notch infrastructure to portions of Manhattan that have lacked protected lanes. And the new connector’s downtown may be the most important pieces of all, linking highly traveled commuter routes to provide seamless, safe travel for thousands of riders.”

“With Citi Bike ebikes hitting the streets today and Citi Bike's expansion to the Bronx on the horizon, Lyft is proud to help make bike riding an easier option for more and more New Yorkers," said Caroline Samponaro, Head of Micromobility Policy for Lyft, the Operator of Citi Bike. "Protected bike lanes are a proven way to encourage daily bike commuting and bike-share can help expand the reach of New York City’s transit network quickly. We applaud the de Blasio administration’s commitment to growing the bike lane network and pledge to work with our partner NYC DOT on their mission to make our streets a safe place for everyone.”