[Editor's note: Streetsblog will not be publishing Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.]
Via the Tri-State Transportation Campaign: Earlier this week Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $67 million in funding for walking and biking infrastructure statewide, after advocates had pressed the state to follow through on the recently passed complete streets law with actual resources. These are federal funds that will be distributed by the state DOT.
One of the local projects that will receive funding is the protected two-way bike lane on the Pulaski Bridge, which will double the amount of space for walking and biking on this increasingly well-used connection between Queens and Brooklyn. The state contribution is $2.5 million, with the remaining $625,000 provided by the city.
NYC DOT revealed the design for the bikeway in December, and Assembly Member Joe Lentol, who has fought for the project since 2012, sent out a press release today with the news that Brooklyn Community Board 1 voted in favor of the plan earlier this week. Lentol says work on the project should begin once the weather warms up and construction season resumes. Here's his full release:
Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D-North Brooklyn) applauded Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald for funding allocated to construct a dedicated bike lane on the Pulaski Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Queens.
The funding provided by Governor Cuomo and NYSDOT Commissioner McDonald totaled $2.5 million and required that the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) provide the remaining balance of nearly $625,000.
On Tuesday Brooklyn Community Board 1 approved NYCDOTs design plan and schematics for the dedicated bike lane. It now awaits Queens Community Board 2 approval.
The project, which has been in the works for nearly four years, is nearing the construction phase, as approval for the design was recently granted by the state to the NYCDOT. The implementation of the bike lane will begin following the winter construction stoppage.
With the impending closure of the G train tunnel for five weeks in the end of July, Assemblyman Lentol, the Pulaski Bridge Coalition, and community members have been advocating for the construction to be completed before July to accommodate the inconvenienced ridership.
“I applaud Governor Cuomo and Commissioner McDonald for making pedestrian and cyclist safety a top priority. This allocation will go a long way in protecting the ever-growing population that utilizes the Pulaski Bridge to access the 7 and L train, and will certainly expand the transportation infrastructure in North Brooklyn.”
“A special debt of gratitude is owed to Commissioner Sadik-Khan for seeing this project through to its near completion,” Lentol concluded.
