New Two-Way Protected Bike Lanes Now Open on Fort Hamilton Parkway

  The new two-way protected bike lanes along Fort Hamilton Parkway, which runs from East 5th Street to Dahill Road, are now completed and available for use, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced today.

     The bike lanes, which the DOT said will “reduce conflicts” and “simplify the connection between Boro Park and Sunset Park, will improve the safety and comfort of both pedestrians and cyclists.

     "Whether you're a cyclist headed to Prospect Park or a Boro Park resident on foot, this new two-way protected bike lane ensures you can get to where you're going securely,” said Bike New York President and CEO Ken Podziba.

     The addition of bicycles lanes: whether protected or conventional, not only improves cyclists’ safety by 33%, but also increases residents’ likelihood to cycle by 50%, reported to the Safe Streets for Cycling, which studied detailed data from bike crashes.

     “Every new bike lane in our city is cause for celebration, especially during Biketober,” said DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman, who added that Fort Hamilton’s new protected bike lane adds one mile to the Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal to add 30 miles of new bike lanes per year.  “Now cyclists in traveling along Fort Hamilton Parkway will have a safer ride.” 

     The DOT created the new two-way protected bike lanes after the both pedestrians and cyclists in the community requested them.

     The new two-way protected bike lanes along Fort Hamilton Parkway improves and strengthens the bike lane that the DOT created 11 years ago, when the agency first installed a route for bikers on Fort Hamilton Parkway to connect to Prospect Park.

     “This stretch also further connects to 4th Avenue via lanes on Dahill Road, 12th Avenue and 37th Street,” the DOT said.

      New York City currently offers 1,375 miles of bike lanes installed, of which 546 are protected bike lanes. Last year, the DOT installed 74 new bike lanes, 29.5 of which are protected bike lanes.