Car-hating NYC bureaucrats quietly making congestion worse with plan to cut vehicle lanes
It’s a cycle of insanity.Gov.Hochul claims congestion pricing reduces traffic in Manhattan — but rather than enjoy the purported benefits, car-hating city bureaucrats are quietly taking steps to make traffic worse, The Post has learned.The Department of Transportation’s latest scheme — which requires no government approvals and could happen as soon as the spring — calls for widening Sixth Avenue’s bike lane from 6 feet to 10 feet between West 14th Street in Chelsea to West 35th Street in Herald Square.To do that, the agency will completely eliminate one of the four vehicle lanes – welcoming back gridlock to the bustling thoroughfare even as the controversial tolls are supposed to eliminate traffic, critics said.“This is New York City, not the Tour de France,” raged NYC Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens).“The anti-car insanity has gotten so extreme.
The Department of Tyrants is not just trying to make it impossible for anyone to drive in this city, it is willing to jeopardize the safety of New Yorkers by creating conditions that will seriously impede emergency responders.Where is Elon Musk and DOGE when you need them?”Eliminating a car lane will just make the avenue less safe because vehicles “will have a harder time navigating,” predicted Manhattan activist Maria Danzilo.“This is really serving the delivery-app lobby and delivery workers who use [electric bikes] because regular bikes aren’t served by this change,” she said.
The DOT unveiled the controversial plan Monday before Community Board 5’s transportation committee.DOT’s project manager Preston Johnson tried to drum up support by citing statistics showing bike volume increased along the targeted strip by 20.6% from 2019 through 2024 and 35.2% on weekends.Bike accidents involving cars and bikes along the strip over the same period resulted in 345 injuries, including four deaths, he also told the board, whose committee OKed the proposal 10-2, but worried about...