The New York City Department of Transportation is set to remove three blocks of the protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue between Willoughby and Flushing Avenues—just months after the agency itself testified that the protected lane made the corridor safer for cyclists. This decision, made in the face of strong safety data and vocal opposition from advocates, raises serious legal concerns.
As bicycle accident attorneys representing injured cyclists across New York City, we want to be clear: if you are injured in a crash that occurs after the removal of a proven safety measure—such as a protected bike lane—you may have a legal claim against the City.
The Legal Basis for a Claim Against the City
Municipal liability in bicycle accidents is complex, but not impossible. In general, the City has a legal duty to keep streets reasonably safe for all users, including cyclists. When the Department of Transportation removes infrastructure that demonstrably improves safety, and fails to provide an adequate alternative or warning, it may be exposing itself to liability.
If an injury occurs in the newly unprotected stretch of Bedford Avenue—an area that DOT itself acknowledged was safer with a protected lane—this could be viewed by a court as a failure to maintain a reasonably safe roadway. In some cases, courts have recognized claims based on affirmative acts by a municipality that create or increase a known danger.
What Must Be Proven
To bring a successful lawsuit against the City of New York, an injured cyclist would need to show:
- That the City had prior knowledge of the hazard or created it through an affirmative act (e.g., removing a known safety measure).
- That the removal of the protected bike lane was a proximate cause of the crash.
- That the injuries sustained were foreseeable consequences of the City’s decision.
The City may claim immunity for discretionary decisions, but this defense can be overcome if the plaintiff can prove gross negligence or that the decision was arbitrary and capricious in the face of known safety benefits.
Why This Matters
Protected bike lanes save lives. The decision to rip up a proven safety measure on a heavily trafficked corridor like Bedford Avenue sends the wrong message and puts cyclists at serious risk. If the City defies its own safety data and someone is seriously injured or killed as a result, litigation may be the only way to hold them accountable.
Contact Our Top-Rated Bicycle Accident Lawyers
At Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, our attorneys are not only deeply familiar with local bike laws—we are also nationally recognized trial lawyers with a proven track record of taking complex municipal liability cases to court.
Activists like Mary Beth Kelly and the family of a retired Supreme Court judge turned to us after tragic crashes involving City or federal vehicles. If you or a loved one is injured after this reckless rollback of safety infrastructure, contact us today for a free consultation.
Call 212-943-1090 or visit our New York bicycle accident lawyer page to learn more.