Citi Bikes Bad for Bushwick
The installation of 85 new Citi Bikes stations throughout Brooklyn and Queens has created outrage among its residents.
Forty-six of the eighty-five stations will cover most of Bushwick, a neighborhood in the northern part of Brooklyn. During the opening of her district office, State Senator for the 18th district Julia Salazar expressed her concerns on the placement of Citi Bikes in Bushwick.
“I am critical of Citi Bikes that aren’t safe,” said Salazar.
The expansion is a result of Citi Bike’s parent company, Lyft’s 100 million dollar agreement to increase the company to 40,000 bikes by the year 2023. Mayor DeBlasio believes that this development will help “build a more fair and equitable city for all New Yorkers”.
Many Bushwick residents, however, fear that the expansion of Citi Bikes will create parking and safety issues for commuters. “I have to park far from my apartment building, the bikes took all of the parking spots,” said Angela, a Bushwick resident.
According to an NY1 report, the Department of Transportation (DOT) records indicate that in 2017, the increase in Citibikes led to the removal of approximately 2,300 free parking spots in Manhattan alone.
Parking is not the only concern, many Bushwick residents fear that the expansion of Citi Bikes will create safety issues for cyclists and pedestrians. Members of the Brooklyn Community Board 4 (CB4), which represents most of Bushwick are also hesitant on the idea of Citi Bikes coming to the area. Fourteen Citi Bikes stations will be placed along Bushwick Ave and Broadway.
CB4 Chairperson Robert Camacho and District Manager Celestina Leon expressed in an op-ed that Citi Bikes along areas like Bushwick ave and Broadway is a “bad idea” for these areas can “barely support the current vehicular and pedestrian traffic”, let alone cyclists.
One month prior to that incident, 4-year-old Luz Gonzalez was struck and killed by an SUV while her mother tied her shoe-laces on the sidewalks of Bushwick.
Bushwick lacks an infrastructure that can ensure safe commute routes for residents. For instance, the intersection of Flushing and Bushwick Avenues has only one red light. Bushwick has an insufficient amount of leading pedestrian intervals. In the years between 2013 and 2017, 140 people were injured along Myrtle Ave, according to the Department of Transportation.
State Senator Julia Sala- zar feels that companies like Citibikes should be “collaborating with the local community” to ensure that the Citi bikes are placed in areas that are “strategic and safe”.
Earlier this summer, Salazar teamed up with Mayor DeBlasio to work on his Vision Zero project to put an end to traffic death and injuries. “I’m hopeful that the mayor’s plan to eliminate these fatalities will succeed,” said Salazar.
