NYC Gets Its First-Ever Physically-Separated On-Street Bike Path

New York City transportation officials has revealed plans for the city's first-ever physically-separated bike lane, or "cycle track." The new bike path will run southbound on Ninth Avenue from W. 23rd to W. 16th Street through Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Unlike the typical Class II on-street bike lane in which cyclists mix with motor vehicle traffic, this new design will create an exclusive path for bicycles between the sidewalk and parked cars.

The city's plan includes traffic signals for bicyclists, greenery-filled refuge areas for pedestrians, a new curbside parking plan, and signalized left-turn lanes for motor vehicles. Department of Transportation planners consulted with Danish urban designer Jan Gehl on the design, according to Transportation Alternatives Deputy Director Noah Budnick. "They are drawing from international best-practice and being smart about talking to other engineers and planners who have implemented these types of designs," Budnick said. "They really thought holistically about everything that is going on on the street."

These types of physically-separated on-street bike lanes, increasingly referred to as "cycle tracks," are commonly found in bike-friendly cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. This is the first time ever that such a design has been implemented inside New York City's urban core.