NYCDOT will extend the 9th Ave. protected bike lane, pictured above, to 33rd St. (Image TSTC)

At Transportation Alternatives’ 2008 Greenway Summit, keynote speaker Jon Orcutt, Director of Policy at New York City DOT (and former TSTC executive director), laid out an extensive menu of bike infrastructure projects that the agency will undertake in the coming year:

• Adding bike lanes and pedestrian islands to Vernon Blvd. in Long Island City this summer.

• Installing new bike lanes on Kent Ave in Williamsburg along the East River.

• Improving the crossways over the FDR from the East River Greenway by keeping them cleaner and introducing traffic calming measures at the intersections.

• Extending the 9th Avenue protected bike lane in Manhattan to 33rd St. (The lane currently ends at 23rd St.)

• As part of a push to build 15 miles of protected bike lanes by 2010, installing a protected lane on 8th Ave. between Canal St. and 23rd St. in Manhattan.

• Beginning design of the Navy Yard portion of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

• Adding bike lanes between Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and the Broadway Bridge connecting Manhattan and the Bronx in spring 2009.

• Constructing bike access to the Shore Parkway Greenway at 157th Ave near JFK Airport.

The plans underscore the DOT’s current commitment to cycling as a legitimate means of transportation in the city. In thanking the advocacy community for its support, Orcutt added that interagency cooperation was key to the continued advancement of cycling infrastructure in New York.

The Greenway Summit was co-sponsored by the Bronx River Alliance, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Friends of Hudson River Park, Harlem River Park Task Force, Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development, The Point CDC, Pratt Center for Community Development and the Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance.