Manhattan BP Levine plans to build a bike lane on the West Side Highway

A bike lane would replace the westernmost lane on the West Side Highway under a new proposal from Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.

Levine’s attempt to reduce crowding on the Hudson River Greenway, which runs directly parallel and adjacent to the freeway, would slam green paint and concrete barriers straight onto Route 9A — creating an alternative route for cyclists, including e-bikers, who are technically dated Greenway path are excluded.

“Congestion on the greenway, both between cyclists and between cyclists and
pedestrians, has deteriorated significantly,” Levine wrote to city and state transportation department chiefs last week.

“Installing a protected bike lane on Route 9A would solve both problems by reducing congestion on the current route while providing a legal space for cyclists using electric bikes, many of whom are immigrants, delivery workers who don’t have a ticket for the attempt to work and travel.”

According to Levine’s proposal, the new bike path would be built in two stages – first between 57th Street, then above 57th Street. He suggested implementing the plan with the introduction of congestion charges, designed to reduce traffic in the central business district.

State legislatures banned electric bicycles from the greenway path under the same 2020 legislation that legalized them on the road.

Several Manhattan ward leaders and elected officials have asked the state’s DOT to build a bike lane just off the freeway.

In 2020, a state DOT official warned the Hudson River Park Trust Advisory Council that the proposal could spill auto traffic onto side streets, Streetsblog reported.