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Google Street View]
According to an analysis of intersections citywide, Third Avenue and 14th Street is among the most dangerous in NYC for cyclists, new research shows.
Last week, Mayor de Blasio’s
announced his "Green Wave Bicycle Plan" in reaction to a recent spate of cycling deaths. (
Em Samolewicz was killed Monday morning in Sunset Park, marking the 18th cyclist to die on city streets this year — eight more than all of 2018.)
The mayor's $58.4 million initiative will ramp up enforcement at the 100 most crash-prone intersections and target enforcement on highest risk activities: speeding, failing to yield, blocking bike lanes, oversized trucks/trucks off route.
Over the next five years the city will also renovate 50 intersections with turn-calming treatments and re-design areas where fatalities occur. (The city has yet to disclose those locations.)
On Monday, the data and real-estate listings website
Localize.city released the results of an analysis — using public data from 2014 to 2018 — to identify which intersections have seen the most cycling injuries and fatalities during that four-year period.
Intersections in the East Village and Lower East Side represent three slots in the top 10:
1. 6th Ave & W. 23rd St., Chelsea
21 Injuries
2 (Tied). Jay St. & Tillary St., Downtown Brooklyn
20 injuries
2 (Tied). Atlantic Ave & Bedford Ave, Crown Heights
20 injuries
4. 3rd Ave & E. 14th St., East Village
18 injuries
Per Localize.city:
New separated bike lanes along East 12th/East 13th streets should offer a safer route, at least for cycling crosstown.
5 (Tied). Chrystie St. & Delancey St., Lower East Side
17 injuries
“Chrystie Street has a two-way bike lane, and the lane closest to traffic rides against traffic flow, which is a huge design flaw,” says urban planner Sam Sklar of Localize.city. “It doesn’t help that Delancey Street is extremely wide, as it accommodates car and bus travel to and from the Williamsburg Bridge. Additionally there isn’t currently any bike lane on this stretch of Delancey Street.”
5 (Tied). St. Nicholas Ave & W. 141st St., Harlem
17 injuries
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Allen at Houston]
7 (Tied). Allen St. & E. Houston St., Lower East Side
14 injuries
“Cyclists and drivers approaching this intersection often have obstructed views because of the width of East Houston Street, plus the width of East First Street along with obstructed views from street trees and bus traffic that potentially blocks views for drivers and cyclists,” says Sklar.
7 (Tied). Graham Ave. & Grand St., Williamsburg
14 injuries
7 (Tied). Jay St. & Myrtle Ave., Downtown Brooklyn
14 injuries
7 (Tied). Roebling St. & South 4th St., Williamsburg
13 injuries, 1 death
Says Sklar: "If you’re thinking about taking up cycling you should know if the intersections and streets near your home are dangerous."