Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Bert Bunyan ruled in favor of the City Department of Transportation yesterday and thus allowing a newly created bike lane on Prospect Park West to remain. Judge Bunyan noted the case as untimely; the Brooklyn residents having brought the complaint after the statute of limitations had already expired. The bike lane, stretching a mile long and two paths wide for dual direction riding, the plaintiffs claim, is a hazard to cars and dangerous for pedestrians. They accused the city of misleading the community about the benefits of the bike path, whilst the city argued that the creation of the bicycle lanes was proper and desired, claiming it sought out the opinions of residents in the area when implementing the path.
Plaintiffs attempted to circumvent the SOL limitation by claiming that the implementation of the bile lane was a sort of “pilot” project and would be made permanent once statistics could be gathered about its effect on pedestrian safety and traffic on the street. Thus, under this view, plaintiff’s lawsuit would have been timely filed. The city however, claimed that the bike lane was intended to be a permanent addition to the road since its inception. Luckily for them, Judge Bunyan agreed, noting Plaintiffs lacked the requisite proof to support their allegations on the matter.
The city stands by their decision, remarking that bike paths on busy streets such as Prospect Park West has led to a reduction in speeding and a safer, calmer community. However, for the millions of car owners in New York, this is just yet another road to be taken over by cumbersome bikers and one more cause for delay during their commute.