White Plains Opens Second Set of Bike Lanes
The City of White Plains opened its second set of bike lanes Saturday, Oct. 26th.
This second phase in the development of bike lanes and shared lanes around the City consists of smaller “connector” segments in several locations. One such segment is located on Barker Avenue and connects the North Broadway bike route to the bike lanes on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The other segments are located on Waller Avenue (northbound) and South Broadway (southbound) and allow cyclists to connect to Bryant Avenue by bringing them down a small segment of Mamaroneck Avenue to Shapham Place and across the top level of the Shapham Place parking garage to Bryant Avenue. The bike lane/shared lane continues down Bryant to the intersection with North Street.
The City of White Plains opened its first dedicated bike lanes more than a year ago with the creation of a loop from the Highlands neighborhood down Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. to the White Plains train station and back up South Lexington Avenue. In developing this first phase of bike lanes the City also mapped out future phases and this enabled the planning and implementation of the second phase to move forward quickly. All planning for the bike lanes/shared lanes was done in-house by City departments as was all street markings and signage.
Mayor Roach said, “These additional bike lanes demonstrate our commitment to making White Plains a safe and welcoming environment for all modes of transportation. The presence of the lane markings and sharrows on the roadway serve to increase driver and pedestrian awareness that others are sharing the road.”
Earlier this year, Mayor Roach and the Common Council joined dozens of other municipalities around the state and passed a “Complete Streets” resolution. Complete Streets acknowledges that many different modes of transportation are being utilized on our local roadways – from cyclists to commercial and passenger vehicles to mass transit vehicles and pedestrians of all abilities – and that planning must take into account all of these modes. Doing so constitutes smart planning and will ultimately help ensure the long-term livability and vibrancy of White Plains.
City Traffic Engineer Tom Soyk said, “Cyclists have every right to use our roadways regardless of whether there are bike lanes or not. From a traffic perspective the bike/shared lane markings are the safest way to go. We have incorporated bike lanes where space permits on the roadway and sharrows, or shared lanes, where necessary in other areas. Together, we hope they raise the overall level of awareness and contribute to safe streets.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
