City Officials Get Protected Bike Lanes for the Predominantly Puerto Rican Community of East Harlem

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In March of 2012, after two years of public debates and overcoming various challenges, the East Harlem Community Board finally approved plans to build protected bike lanes and pedestrian refuge islands. Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City Council member for district 8, joined with city officials and members of the community to create a campaign to inform the public of the benefits protected bike lanes could bring to East Harlem. According to Mark-Viverito, residents from the predominantly Puerto Rican community of East Harlem suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Mark-Viverito speaks of that lack of bike lanes as a social justice issue. Protected bike lanes enhance safety by creating physical separation between moving traffic and bike lanes. Having this protection allows cyclists of all levels to ride their bikes for day to day transportation.

Watch this video from Streetfilms to learn more about how East Harlem residents brought protected bike lanes to their community:

For more information on protected bike lanes in East Harlem, read blog posts from streetsblog.org.