{"id":139309,"date":"2026-02-19T22:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139309\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T22:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:18:26","slug":"bike-lane-controversy-redux-redesign-of-busy-staten-island-street-sparks-new-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139309\/","title":{"rendered":"Bike-lane controversy redux: Redesign of busy Staten Island street sparks new concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Months after protected bike lanes and a major redesign narrowed Seaview Avenue in Ocean Breeze to a single travel lane each way, the project continues to stir controversy, with local officials citing rising \u201cdriver frustration\u201d and new concerns about pedestrian safety.<\/p>\n

At a Community Board 2 meeting on Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield, Joseph Torres, the chair of the Traffic, Transportation & Public Service Committee, shared information from a previous meeting with the Department of Transportation about the growing concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community and Northwell [Staten Island University Hospital] has observed that driver frustration is setting in, when you actually compress that much throughput from two lanes down to one,\u201d Torres said during the meeting. \u201cThey\u2019re actually seeing increased incidents of speeding and concern for pedestrian safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April 2025, a 12-foot travel lane, a 10-foot-wide parking lane, a new 5-foot buffer zone, and the Island\u2019s first protected bike lanes bordering the curb were added to both sides of the avenue<\/a>. In addition, a crosswalk and accompanying traffic signals were installed at Seaview and Nugent Avenue, much closer to the hospital\u2019s emergency room and main entrances.<\/p>\n

\"CommunityCommunity Board 2 reports driver frustration and safety issues near Northwell Staten Island University Hospital.(Advance\/SILive.com|Nicolette Cavallaro)<\/p>\n

Previously, the location had two lanes of travel in each direction and smaller, unprotected bike lanes. <\/p>\n

The project stemmed from Northwell Staten Island University Hospital\u2019s leadership asking the transportation agency to address concerns about pedestrian safety, especially for anyone crossing Seaview between the hospital and medical offices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was very reassuring is we had representatives from the DOT and they actually took that in,\u201d Torres said at the meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Increase in safety<\/p>\n

While the Community Board meeting revealed concerns for pedestrians, the Department of Transportation has remained firm in its stance that the redesign has increased safety, focusing on the decreased amount of serious vehicle accidents. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo New Yorker should fear for their safety traveling to and from health care. This redesign was a response to community-requested safety upgrades and concerns from the Northwell Staten Island University Hospital over pedestrian safety along Seaview Avenue,\u201d said a DOT spokesperson. \u201cSimilar designs like the one installed on Seaview have proven to save lives \u2014 and we\u2019ve already seen safety benefits along the corridor, with a 37% decrease in injury-causing crashes recorded.\u201d <\/p>\n

Prior controversy<\/p>\n

City Councilmember David Carr, a Republican who represents thr Mid-Island and a part of Brooklyn, voiced frustration with the changes in an interview with the Advance\/SILive.com in January,<\/a> citing worries about how the redesign impacts ambulances and other emergency responders trying to navigate the area.<\/p>\n

Then-DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez acknowledged community concerns about emergency vehicle access when the changes were unveiled, stating that the Fire Department and NYPD provided input during the planning process.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, a Democrat representing the North Shore and a part of Brooklyn, also shared complaints about the Seaview Avenue redesign during a bipartisan coalition in September 2025.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen the failure of this design that DOT came up with at Seaview Avenue. Almost 100% of my constituents are complaining about it,\u201d Scarcella-Spanton said at the time.<\/p>\n

Staten Island University Hospital issued the following statement to the Advance\/SILive.com on Thursday:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of our patients, visitors and team members is always our top priority at Staten Island University Hospital. We recognize the importance of maintaining safe and efficient roadways around our campus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Months after protected bike lanes and a major redesign narrowed Seaview Avenue in Ocean…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-139309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}