Brooklyn Community Board 1 – Williamsburg/Greenpoint has the highest bicycle commuter mode share in New York City according to screen line data.  The close proximity to Manhattan, abundance of safe bicycle facilities, and lack of multilane/high-speed roads contribute to make this area ideal for cycling. However, as Williamsburg has become a destination rather than just a bedroom community for Manhattan workers, the standard commute from Williamsburg to Manhattan is being met with atypical journeys. This is particularly true with commutes to and from Queens, which surrounds these communities on two sides.

Cyclists entering and exiting between Greenpoint and Queens in the north use the Pulaski Bridge, which has a narrow shared space for both cyclists and pedestrians. Due to heavy congestion and the narrow space, pedestrian and cyclist conflict is common. It would be a recommendation for NYC DOT to add bicycle facilities to the roadway, leaving the current space solely to pedestrians. However, research has indicated that the DOT Bicycle Program is currently conducting an engineering study to add protected bike lanes here. This leaves another principal route between Williamsburg and Queens at Ridgewood on Metropolitan Avenue.

On this corridor, the bicycle facility on Grand Avenue comes to an abrupt end at the Queens border. There is a significant amount of bicycle traffic on Metropolitan Avenue in Queens though it has considerable dangerous truck traffic as it is the only direct route to points east of Williamsburg into Queens. Fortunately, the most dangerous part of the corridor, determined by the number of trucks entering and exiting the thoroughfare, also has excess roadway width at 92 feet.  Adding a bicycle facility here could ameliorate the disconnected bicycle network between northern Brooklyn and Ridgewood/Middle Village. Traffic safety data indicates that this has been a very dangerous corridor for all street users.

Existing Conditions:

     Metropolitan Avenue at Varick Street, Queens

Proposed Design:      164th Street between 65th Avenue and 67th Avenue, Queens I personally use this route at least once a week to get from my home in Williamsburg to the Kissena Velodrome in Flushing, Queens during the summer. It should be noted that a large proportion of Kissena track racers, if not the majority, are also coming from north Brooklyn by bike along this route. Additionally, I have observed all varieties of cyclists, from delivery men to children, on this dangerous route. I obtained crash data and analyzed it using the same methodology employed by the New York City Department of Transportation to calculate the severity of accidents per mile of roadway for the past few years (see tables). Metropolitan Avenue - Grand Street to 69th Street, Queens
Safety Analysis
Route Length:	2.34	miles
Injury Summary, 2007-2011
	Injuries
	Total	Severe	Fatalities	KSI*		KSI - Killed or Severely Injured
Pedestrian	57	12	1	13		Injury Source: NYSDOT
Bicyclist	25	2	1	3
Motor Vehicle Occupant	421	28	2	30
Total	503	42	4	46
Fatality Summary, 01/01/2007-10/7/2013
Total	5		Fatality Source: NYPD
Pedestrian:	1
Bicyclist:	2
Motor Vehicle Occupant:	2
KSI/mile = 19.7

This KSI figure, at 19.7, represents a high crash corridor, putting it in the top 10% in KSI/mile in Queens during this period. Using NYC DOT’s bike map as a base, my proposed route is shown overlaid in purple, providing safe bicycle access to schools along Metropolitan Avenue and a safe and direct route to the Queens Greenway at Forest Park from Grand Avenue in Williamsburg. This route would expand the bicycle network and link fragmented portions of existing facilities.