New Bill Lets Communities Decide on Bike Lanes

New Yorkers will get to pave the way for future bicycle lanes. The City Council yesterday unanimously passed a bill requiring community-board input whenever the Department of Transportation constructs or removes a bike lane.

The DOT would have to give a presentation for each proposed bike lane at the request of a community board and be required to provide 90 days’ notice before installing the pathway.

“Every now and then, government needs to shimmy down from the ivory tower, come out to the neighborhoods and ask people what they think is best in their community,” said bill sponsor Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn) before the council vote.

“This bill is not anti-bike lane. It’s not pro-bike lane. It’s in favor of proper planning and community involvement in setting up our street grid for everybody to use in the best possible way,” he added.

Bicycle lanes have expanded under Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, a cycling advocate who has installed more than 250 miles of bike paths since she took over in 2007.

The council yesterday also passed a bill allowing Albany to go forward with authorizing residential parking permits in the city.

The bill, which faces opposition in the Legislature, would allow the council and mayoral officials to designate zones for residential permits — a particular concern in busy areas where residents say they’re losing coveted spots to merchants and construction workers.

“A permit system is long overdue in neighborhoods where residents spend hours circling for parking near their homes,” said bill sponsor and state Sen. Dan Squadron (D-Brooklyn).

And Council Speaker Christine Quinn threw her support behind a bill to bar the Sanitation Department from slapping stubborn, neon-green stickers on cars violating alternate-side parking rules.

Residents say the stickers are difficult to remove.

Sanitation official John Nucatola told council members this week his agency would consider using easily-peeled stickers.