[NYDAILYNEWS] Dozens of miles of New York City streets will be redesigned by year’s end to improve safety for cyclists and speed up commutes for bus riders, Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday.Hizzoner said the city is on pace to install 30 new miles of protected bike lanes and five new "busways" — or streets where passenger car traffic is restricted — before he leaves office at the end of the year. If crews finish the work, it’ll mark the quickest expansion of bus and bike lanes during a calendar year in the city’s history.
"When we talk about recovery for all of us, it means everyone has to get around. It means we have to be safe," de Blasio said during a news conference. "A recovery for all of us means thinking about our future, and New York City is doing everything we can to break our dependence on fossil fuels."
The bike lane expansion includes the rollout of a new "bike boulevard" in each borough. Those areas — 21st St. in South Slope, Brooklyn; University Pl. in Greenwich Village, 39th Ave. in Sunnyside, Queens, Jackson Ave. in the Bronx and Netherland Ave. on Staten Island — will connect to other major bike lanes, and will come with a slate of safety improvements to disincentive car traffic and give cyclists more space, officials said.
The new busways will mirror one already in place along 14th St. in Manhattan, where passenger vehicle through traffic is banned most of the day. The same treatment will be given to stretches of Fifth Ave. in Manhattan, and Jamaica and Archer Aves. in Jamaica, Queens — adding to two other busways launched on 181st St. in upper Manhattan and Main St. in Flushing, Queens earlier this year.
Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman said those new busways, along with 28 miles of other bus lane improvements coming in 2021, will speed up commutes for nearly 1 million straphangers.