“We have two hospitals within one mile radius and four elementary schools,” said Lisa Sposato, a Windsor Terrace resident. “So congestion and schools and hospitals don’t mix very well.”<\/p>\n
Transit officials, however, say their plan is the safer option.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are pro-bikes. We just think this is a really bad idea.”<\/p>\n
Residents recently learned of the Department of Transportation’s plan<\/a> to add bike lanes to a five-block stretch of McDonald Avenue along Green Wood Cemetery, connecting the existing bike routes on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 20th Street.<\/p>\n Under the city’s proposal, the four-lane road would be reduced to two to put bike lanes<\/a> in each direction.<\/p>\n “We are pro-bikes,” Sposato said. “We just think this is a really bad idea. There are several side streets that you could take the bikes down that would make a longer path.”<\/p>\n New bike lanes on McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn would connect the existing bike routes on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 20th Street.<\/p>\n CBS News New York<\/p>\n The stretch in question also serves as part of Commercial Truck Route 27, which raised additional concerns among the locals.<\/p>\n “We have four schools in a nine-block radius,” said Susan Reilly, another Windsor Terrace resident.<\/p>\n Reilly and others said the redesign could cause more traffic jams, especially during school drop-off hours.<\/p>\n “A lot of children are using school buses, a lot of children have to use the MTA buses in order to get to school,” Reilly said.<\/p>\n “There’s seven MTA routes, including express buses that run and move 25-30,000 people a day,” said Alexandra Lambert, another neighbor. “That’s a really vital transportation line. And when it gets backed up, the kids are just late to school and people are late to work.”<\/p>\n “Putting in a protected bike lane on a truck route is actually best practices”<\/p>\n In response to the residents’ concerns, a DOT spokesperson said street redesigns like the McDonald Avenue plan have been shown to reduce injuries and deaths<\/a> by as much as 30%.<\/p>\n “This project will help reduce instances of dangerous driving while expanding the neighborhood’s protected bike network,” DOT said in a statement.<\/p>\n Alexa Sledge, communications director for Transportation Alternatives, supports the project and said it aligns with a common DOT approach to safety redesign.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Putting in a protected bike lane on a truck route is actually best practices for turning a truck route into a safe street,” she said.<\/p>\n![\"mcdonald-avenue-bike-la-wcbsfdcf-hi-res-still.jpg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mcdonald-avenue-bike-la-wcbsfdcf-hi-res-still.jpg#.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n