DOT wants to add 8 miles of protected bike lanes to Fourth Ave.
In what would be a major transformation of one of the city’s “Great Streets,” the Department of Transportation (DOT) wants to add eight miles of protected bike lanes to Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue, from Dean Street in Boerum Hill to 65th Street in Sunset Park.
Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a release on Thursday that the dramatic surge in cycling plus recent safety improvements have transformed thinking about the avenue, long one of the deadliest thoroughfares in the city.
Temporary measures that have already reduced serious pedestrian crashes on the avenue by 68 percent were expected to be made permanent this year. These include changed signal timing, narrowed travel lanes, some left turn restrictions, more visible crosswalks and speed cameras in several school zones. Citywide Vision Zero rules have also reduced the speed limit to 25 mph.