NYC to Expand Bike Lanes After ‘Dangerous Surge’ in Fatalities

(Bloomberg) -- After 17 bicyclists died on New York streets this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would move to install 80 miles of protected lanes citywide by the end of 2021, an effort to salvage his signature “Vision Zero” program that seeks to end fatal traffic accidents.

The $58.4 million plan would build 30 miles of protected bike lanes a year, particularly in Brooklyn, where 12 of the cyclist deaths occurred this year. Eight deaths involved encounters with trucks. The 17 deaths are the most since 2014, when de Blasio announced the traffic-safety program early in his first term. Last year’s total of 10 deaths was the lowest since the program’s start.

“When we came into office, we promised New Yorkers we’d do everything we could to end traffic fatalities,” de Blasio said during news conference in Brooklyn. “No loss of life on our streets is acceptable. With a dangerous surge in cyclist fatalities, we have to keep pushing the envelope and increasing our efforts.”

Other elements of the plan involve increased enforcement of laws against motorists blocking bike-only lanes. During the past three weeks, police have issued more than 8,600 summons for such violations, de Blasio said. Problem intersections will be redesigned and traffic patterns re-engineered in an effort to reduce risks. And helmet use will be encouraged.

In addition, safety-education programs will be instituted for truckers, including an instructional video for the city Department of Transportation’s truck fleet. In response to a reporter’s question about bikers who flout the law, the mayor said that vehicles, particularly trucks, create more of a problem.

The mayor’s plan follows years of criticism by biking advocates who say the pace of the city’s construction of protected lanes hasn’t kept up with the rising number of cyclists. About 24% of New York adults, or some 1.6 million people, ride bikes, including about 500,000 on a typical day, a 55% increase from 2012 to 2017. Citi Bike, the city’s bike-share system, is the largest in the U.S., with an average of more than 70,000 daily uses in good weather.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, William Selway

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