The best before/after video highlights you can watch of 2024 NYC DOT bike innovations
While scrolling thru a NYC bike Reddit I saw someone chime in a discussion about “everyone complaining all the time about everything”. Admittedly, yes, we cyclists tend to post exclusively about what is wrong out there. But it does bring awareness to problems, rallies people to the cause and often does get many issues fixed.
Another poster said we live in a big city and we should celebrate that NYC does have some decent biking and fairly good networks. Streetfilms has been on top of that. In the second-half of 2024 I’ve certainly made a lot of films focusing on really innovative designs by NYC DOT. And so for those who missed it I present this great pod of lots of new “good stuff”.
Brooklyn’s McGuinness Just Got McBetter!
This was a dramatic years-long fight to make Brooklyn’s McGuinness Blvd safer. After an absurd investment of time with soap-opera twists & turns (some involving Mayor Adams’ closest advisor) late this fall the long-delayed completion finally got underway. What a difference, just check out the before/afters, especially coming off the Pulaski Bridge!
NYC’s 2nd Ave Bike Lane Widened - in Some Places 2x!
Busy Second Avenue in Manhattan has been one of Streetfilms biggest advocacy items over the last four years: widen it, widen it, widen it! And after lots of visual proof (and that’s just one video) NYC DOT has and it is pretty wonderful. Check out this segment, but really go out and ride the entire length from 96th street all the way to Houston - it’s a sublime experience!
Look at these: Bedford Avenue, 1st Ave UNGA Tunnel & Queens Blvd Sparkle!
Here’s a fun trio of things I mashed together since they were all happening nearly concurrently. Brooklyn advocates have been clamoring for a protected bike lane on Bedford since the beginning of time and it finally happened! The First Ave tunnel bike express near the UN (many of us call it the UNGA tunnel since during UN General Assemblys the city has been allowing cyclists to ride thru it safely) became a thing in 2024. And finally, the missing segment of Queens Blvd bike lane went in and it is nice and plenty wide for future scores of riders.
2nd Ave Makes Vehicle Turns Safer for Peds & Cyclists
This is one of those films that was completely unplanned. I knew NYC DOT had dropped in a good deal of new innovations along 2nd Avenue while widening the bike lane in some stretches. When I saw what they had done with the left hand turning lanes and amping up the daylighting I had to jump off my bike and record some dialogue as I watched it all work.
NYC DOT’s Sean Quinn Talks Concrete w/Streetfilms
Streetfilms got a nice exclusive in 2024: talking with Sean Quinn, NYC DOT's Associate Deputy Commissioner of Office of Livable Streets, about how there have been some very recent concrete upgrades in Queens on some major bike routes. We got to talk about some recent places systemwide where the department has been working (and plans to work) as they've been able to bolster concrete building capacity with the addition of more units capable of pouring concrete for NYC DOT.
"Super Sidewalks" & Protected Bike Lanes 9th Avenue
And finally although this posted in 2023 it was one of the city’s most anticipated bike & road changes. See how the long fight in Hell’s Kitchen (led by uber advocate Christine Berhet) finally paid off. The visual changes are remarkable. This street used to have 5 lanes of moving vehicles plus 2 for parking. It has come a long way!
