­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­MINUTES: 6/25/09 TransAlt Brooklyn Committee Meeting, ­­by Kasia Nikhamina­­­ ­­­ ­

­1. DOT PRESENTATION

Last Thursday we heard a terrific presentation from Hayes Lord, Acting Bicycle Program Coordinator for the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT). We would like to thank him for taking the time to come to speak to the Brooklyn Committee in person!

Hayes Lord started his career in City Planning, worked for a while in New Jersey (where the governor had a 2,000 bicycle lane commitment) and returned to the City when Janette Sadik-Khan became DOT Commissioner­. He emphasized DOT’s willingness to go back to the drawing board: if something doesn’t work well, they will go back to make modifications. Kent Avenue is one example. DOT is also willing to try innovative designs. The ­floating parking on Grand Street is an example of that.

Before he spoke about bicycle facility projects in Brooklyn for 2009, Hayes Lord gave us some background about the development of the bicycle network in NYC.  In 1997, the Bicycle Master Plan was created. (As the City changes, it’s necessary to revisit this plan and tweak it.) In 2006, the Bicycle Fatality Study was released and the need for cycling infrastructure became clearer then ever. DOT made a three-year commitment to install bike lanes. Weather-permitting, by next week, 200 miles will have been installed. Grand Concourse in the Bronx is the last stretch. The Mayor’s PlaNYC, launched in 2007, gave DOT the teeth to move forward. DOT outlined a commitment to install 50 miles of bike lanes a year until the network is complete in 2030. 

In Brooklyn DOT has installed 57 miles of bike lane miles over three years. They have installed guide signs for all the East River bridges. They are also starting to install way-finding signs where bicycle facilities intersect. Look for them! 

Brooklyn Projects in 2009:

1. Pulaski Bridge: increased ped & bike counts on this key link between Greenpoint & Long Island City – the bridge was reconstructed 15 years ago so it won’t be redone again for a few decades – but there are small steps we can take – DOT just changed the timing on the ped signal on the Queens side – this leading pedestrian interval is backing up motor traffic but is helping ease the ped situation. DOT will be installing lines & signs in fall. Can revisit next spring. We should always have a plan A (i.e. if we could get the bridge reconstructed) & plan B (if we can’t).
2. 7^th Avenue Traffic Calming: .8 miles each way, total 1.9. Roughly Fort Hamilton Parkway to Cropsey Ave. Reduces speeds by reducing number of travel lanes. Creates median buffer and left turn bay. Putting in bike lanes narrows the road and slows traffic.
3. Avenue H: (Ocean Parkway to Ocean Avenue) 1.5 lane miles, class 3 shared lane markings – connects Brooklyn College to Ocean Parkway Greenway. Since there is an underpass under the Q train, cyclists have to go onto the sidewalk for a very short stretch.
4. 9^th Street: 1 lane mile. 3^rd Avenue to 2^nd Avenue, shared route in both directions. 2^nd Avenue to Smith Street, green curbside bike lane (6.5”).
5. Columbia street: pedestrian project. Landscaped median and ped refuge mid-block. 1 lane mile, class II
6. Schermerhorn Street: a new 70′ long plaza. 1 lane mile. Class III, shared lane markings. There is some interest in on-street bike parking. In the past we couldn’t install racks on grates, now we can. (The MTA’s flood mitigation installations over grates also double as bike parking and seating, as on West Broadway in Manhattan.) At Schermerhorn and Hoyt, there will be a rack in the street with planters to define the space.
7. Kent Avenue Redesign: we have discussed this at length in previous meetings. See this powerpoint about the latest redesign: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/kent_ave.pdf
8. Prospect Park West: separated 2-way bike path, class I, 1.8 lane miles, concrete pedestrian refuge islands. Parking maintained except approx. 2 parking spaces per signalized intersection. Landscaping – Greenstreets.
9. Tillary Street: Jay St. to Brooklyn Bridge. Class II lane, one way, west bound. .1 lane miles. At the entrance to bridge, cyclists should use ped signal. See this powerpoint for more details: http://nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/tillary_adams_proposal_062609.pdf
10. Liberty And East NY: 5.1 lane miles. Class II and Class III. Fills the largest gap on Brooklyn-Queens Greenway. 

Suggestions for advocacy & awareness:

• If you have a proposal for change in your neighborhood, try to get a supporting resolution from your Community Board and/or a letter from a local official. This makes it that much easier for DOT to appraise the project and implement it.
• Sign up to NYCycles, DOT’s monthly e-newsletter here: https://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.9890e25644a35f228a37472361c789a0/
• Check out DOT’s Bicycle Program website & see the new bike rack Google map (over 6,000 racks): http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikemain.shtml

DOT is replacing parking meters with Munimeters, starting in Manhattan. As a result, there is a six-month delay on bike rack installations. At the same time, there is an increased need for bike racks, since the once-ubiquitous parking meters doubled as bike parking. Therefore, bulk order requests are golden for DOT.

2. BULK ORDERS OF BIKE RACKS:

Dan Latorre (Brooklyn Committee), Lily Bernheimer (Livable Streets), and Ivan Willig (Open Geo at The Open Planning Project) have been working on a website that allows people to suggest a bike rack location and teaches them how to assess the location based on DOT requirements. There are two other components: a PSA and a printed info sheet. The bulk order system (each bulk order is around 300 racks) is efficient. Furthermore it allows the people who are assessing the locations to do a little outreach in the community at the same time…speak to residents and merchants. In the beta phase we are trying to get 300 rack locations in Community Board 1 in Brooklyn which we will then give to DOT. We will need people to suggest locations and then meet up on a Saturday to visit those locations and assess them. If you are interested, email  The website will launch soon! Stay tuned!

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS­

* Check our calendar often for new events: http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/transportation-alternatives-brooklyn/blog/ 

* Photos from our ride to the Cyclones game at Keyspan Stadium in Coney Island on Sunday, June 28! Thanks to Sholom Brody for the photos.

* bike BKLN: June 2009­­

The Coney Island Ride to the Brooklyn Cyclones game was a success! See photos here. We will be rescheduling two events soon: The Bike Repair Workshop at Roy’s Sheepshead Cycle and the Brooklyn Waterfront Epic Ride (tentatively slated for August 9, 2009) 

* Boerum/Livingston LPI

­­Street Activist Margo Baender has been pushing DOT to increase safety at Livingston & Boerum for years.  She even came to one our monthly meetings and we all signed her letter of support. Well, it paid off… DOT has agreed to install Leading-Pedestrian-Intervals at the crosswalks in the near future. It will give pedestrians a 7-second protected period at the beginning of the signal phase, and will add 7-seconds to the overall crossing time. This wide intersection need more changes to improve pedestrian safety, but this is a great step in the right direction!­

* Century Tour route marking & marshaling

TA’s Century Tour is Sunday, September 13th. It’s a ways away, but there’s lots to do and TA needs your help. There’ll be a route marking bonanza the weekend of August 22-23, as well as a marshal pre-ride ride through the weekend of August 29-30. Contact Elena at volunteer(at)transalt.org for more info on how to signup and help out on this one of a kind NYC ride. ­

* Biking Rules PSA competition

TA’s Biking Rules campaign has announced a call for entries for their PSA competition that’ll collect photos or original video which encourage bicycling and strengthen the positive voice of cyclists in NYC. There’s up to $4000 in prizes, so grab a camera, and get creative. Deadline is August 31, 2009. Check out http://bikingrules.org/PSA for more details.

* Celebrate Brooklyn

There are hundreds of bikes to park at every Celebrate Brooklyn show and we can’t do it without volunteers. Email Kevin at kevonbikes(at)gmail.com for more opportunities to help out. The concert schedule is here: http://www.briconline.org/celebrate/schedule.asp

* 5th Avenue Bike Lane Support

This bike lane through Park Slope is crucial for commuter cyclists who pass through, local bike riders who use it for shopping, and everyone who wants a safer and calmed 5th avenue.  However, recent opposition by BID leader Irene Lore and CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman mean we need to get out and show support. We urge people to write letters of support for the lane and we are looking for Park Slope committee members who are willing to survey 5^th Avenue merchants to gauge their actual impressions of the lane’s success. If interested, email Paco at subtle116(at)gmail.com for more details,  as well as bullet points to include in your letters.

* NEXT MEETING: July 30, 2009. 7 PM. Same place: Long Island College Hospital on Hicks St. at Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. See you then!

Questions? Corrections? Comments? Please email me at kasia.krolowa(at)gmail.com.

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