New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday said he is taking away the bike lane on Bedford Avenue between Willoughby and Flushing Avenues after a request from some Williamsburg residents.
"After several incidents– including some involving children– on a section of the Bedford Avenue bike lane in Williamsburg, Department of Transportation Commissioner [Ydanis] Rodriguez and I listed to community concerns and decided to adjust the current design to better reflect community feedback," the mayor's statement on Facebook read. "In doing so, the city will restore the original configuration of the Bedford bike lane between Willoughby [Avenue] and Flushing Avenue, while maintaining existing intersection daylighting treatments to protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike, and ensuring that pedestrians and cyclists can move safety around the neighborhood."
The mayor's move comes two weeks after he held a town hall meeting where Hasidic community leaders requested the removal of the bike lanes after several accidents, according to Streetsblog.
The bike lane was just constructed last year, after many residents and local leaders repeatedly called for the city to install the protected bike lane on the busy corridor.
Council Member Lincoln Restler said the mayor's decision was "purely a political decision."
"Instead of identifying solutions to enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, the mayor is making a purely political decision to rip out a bike lane with no alternative," Restler said on X. "This reckless and arbitrary decision will lead to more tragic crashes, and it will be his fault."
