Part of the parking-protected bike lane on a hazardous stretch of Bedford Avenue on the border of Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy will be removed and replaced with a non-protected painted bike lane, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.
About three blocks of the lane, between Flushing and Willoughby Avenue, will be axed, a Department of Transportation spokesperson confirmed. Adams’ statement erroneously referred to “Willoughby Street.” The rest of the protected bike lane, from Willoughby Avenue to Dean Street, will be left as-is.
The decision came after months of pushback from local leaders who claimed the lane was dangerous and had caused several accidents since it was installed late last year.
“After several incidents — including some involving children — on a section of the Bedford Avenue bike lane in Williamsburg, Department of Transportation Commissioner Rodriguez and I listened to community concerns and decided to adjust the current design to better reflect community feedback,” Adams said in a statement posted online on June 13.
A number of crashes have been reported along the Bedford Avenue bike lane in recent months. In January, a boy was hit by the rider of a motorized scooter as he crossed the bike lane to the sidewalk. Video of the incident showed that the boy entered the lane after stepping off a school bus that had stopped midblock. A second child was hit by a cyclist under similar circumstances last month.
Since it was completed last fall, the city has made several changes to the lane, according to Streetsblog, including adding additional bus loading zones and no standing zones. Late last month, Adams held town hall meeting in Williamsburg, which focused primarily on the Bedford Avenue bike lane.
United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg shared Adams’ statement on X and thanked the mayor “for accepting our proposal that was presented at our meeting with @NYC_DOT Commissioner two weeks ago.”
“On behalf of a grateful community, thank you, [Mayor Eric Adams], for listening to the Bedford Avenue bike lane safety concerns of the residents of Williamsburg and acting swiftly,” wrote local Satmar leader Rabbi Moishe Indig, on X. “This is what real leadership looks like.”
Other local leaders slammed the decision.
“For months, the Mayor has repeatedly ignored our recommendations for ensuring the safety of children on Bedford Avenue,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler, in a statement. “And now, instead of identifying solutions that enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, the Mayor is making a purely political decision to rip out a bike lane with no alternative.”
Bedford Avenue is particularly dangerous for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. According to a 2023 DOT presentation, nearly 700 people were injured along the avenue between Flushing Avenue and Dean Street between 2016 and 2020. Data collected by NYC Crash Mapper shows that four pedestrians were killed along the stretch between 2020 and 2025, including one between Flushing and Willoughby avenues.
Street safety organization Transportation Alternatives said the number of pedestrians injured along the avenue had fallen 10% since the bike lane was installed, and that driver injuries had dropped more dramatically, by 42%.
“The Bedford Avenue bike lane didn’t originate out of thin air,” said TransAlt executive director Ben Furnas, in a statement. “This very same administration studied it, decided it was a good idea, and built it. Suddenly removing the bike lane is also illegal — under Intro 417, passed last year, New York City requires notice and potential community board hearing on the addition or removal of a bike lane.”
