Bicyclists rejoice!
Yet another bike lane is coming to the Downtown Brooklyn/Boerum Hill neighborhoods.
The lane will come to Hoyt Street between Schermerhorn and Bergen Streets and serve as a connector between existing bike lanes on Dean and Bergen Streets, according to Chris Lucas from the city’s Department of Transportation bicycle division.
Lucas told the Community Board 2 Transportation Committee last week that the bike lane will go on the east side of the thoroughfare.
Currently, there is no standing along this section of Hoyt on the east side of the street from 7 a.m. to midnight, Lucas said, and once implemented there will be no parking between midnight and 7 a.m.
The connector on Hoyt Street is part of the city’s three-year plan to expand the citywide bicycle network to 400 miles, Lucas said.
Transportation Alterna-tives spokesperson Wiley Norvell hailed the new lane as instrumental in linking up the bicycle network throughout Brooklyn.
“Hoyt Street is good because it connects to Dean and Bergen streets which are heavily used by bikers, and connects the existing network from Prospect Heights all the way through Park Slope to Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill,” said Norvell.
Norvell said the Hoyt Street connection is also needed in Downtown Brooklyn to connect to bike lanes on Jay Street and ultimately to the Brooklyn Bridge, he said.
CB 2 member Nancy Wolf said the implementation of the lane may cause some problems for pedestrians facing bicyclists that do not follow the traffic laws.
Wolf also questioned what happens when bikers run red lights, and suggested beefed up traffic enforcement and rules of the road bicycle education.
Lucas responded, “As a cyclist myself, I know I’m required to follow all the rules.”
Norvell said there is no excuse for rude bicyclists, but the implementation of more bike roadways will mean a larger mass of bicyclists, which in turn will force more compliance of laws.
A DOT spokesperson said implementation of the Hoyt Street bike connector lane should start within a week, and it will take another two or three weeks to paint the lane and set it up.
