B38 Bus Emerges as Latest Obstacle to Lafayette Bike Lane

Looking down Lafayette Avenue on a grey, rainy Monday morning, Clinton Hill cyclist Brandon Smith was emphatic.

"There's definitely enough room for a bike lane on this street," Smith said.

A regular cyclist to and from his job in Manhattan, Smith is part of an increasingly vocal group of residents looking to change one of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill's major thoroughfares.

But even with the , concerns about the impact of the cyclist right-of-way on another alternative form of transportation are coming to the fore.

According to Community Board 2 district manager Robert Perris, questions about congestion affecting B38 bus service along the avenue remained largely unaddressed by the city Department of Transportation.

"It will have to be a robust study," Perris said. "Without additional data it is very hard to handicap whether a bike lane will be going up on Lafayette Avenue."

Opponents of the bike lane note that the plan most likely would involve removing a lane to vehicular traffic, which could slow the well-traveled B38 bus line's progress along Lafayette through Bed-Stuy and points east.

However, Caroline Samponaro, director of bicycle advocacy at Transportation Alternatives, said that many, if not all, of the community's concerns could be addressed at the design table.

"There is no need for a bus lane to compete with a bike lane," Samponaro said.

Samponaro said one of the tools available to DOT engineers would be the option of installing a "shareway"—a right-of-way created for cyclists without carving a separate, dedicated bike lane off-limits to motorists.

"There should be a way to accommodate both," she said.