NYC DOT under fire after bike lane revisions cause gridlock for drivers trying to avoid congestion tolls
The NYC Department of Transportation has put the screws to drivers who are trying to avoid congestion pricing tolls by entering Manhattan via the Queensborough Bridge, critics told The Post.
The agency helped spur relentless massive gridlock last month by removing a key left-turn lane along East 62nd Street heading northbound on First Avenue — to create a seven-foot-wide safety buffer area abutting the 62nd Street bike lane.
'It makes me feel like the New York City Department of Transportation is deliberately trying to ruin the only toll-free route into Manhattan from Queens,' said Dylan Yen, 24, an Upper East Side tech consultant and U.S. Coast Guard member who regularly commutes between boroughs by taking the bridge.
'They're deliberately trying to make it as difficult as possible so that people will either pay the congestion toll or, more cynically, they make it so bad that we as a neighborhood decide that we need congestion pricing.'
Northbound travelers such as Yen avoid the controversial $9 toll for Manhattan drivers below East 60th Street by using the bridge's upper level exit, leading to East 61st Street.
Exiting the lower level leaves drivers off at East 59th Street where they have to pay the piper.
Yen continued: 'This is manufactured congestion to cater to the whims of Transportation Alternatives,' referring to the powerful anti-car group that critics say has incestuous relationship with DOT, indirectly lobbies for Uber and Lyft and wields a lot of power with lefty officials.
The revisions leave only one lane operating during certain hours for both drivers needing to turn left to onto First Avenue or continue east onto the FDR Drive.
The road's right lane is supposed to be open to traffic except Sundays and overnights the rest of the week, midnight to 7 a.m. when parking is allowed.
However, it's routinely blocked during business hours by trucks making deliveries, residents said.
Previously, the strip had a lane dedicated for left turns, a center lane for thru-traffic to the FDR Drive and a right lane with 'No Standing' zones regulations in affect most hours beyond Sunday.
The DOT insists its plan was always to eliminate the left lane and create a safety buffer for bikers since the 62nd Street bike lane was installed in 2021 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration.
That part of the project was put on hold for years because outdoor dining sheds were blocking the right lane until Mayor Eric Adams instituted new rules phasing out many of the blighted structures, officials claimed.
Bridge users aren't buying the excuse.
Michael, a 34-year-old Upper East Side resident who works at a Queens tech company, said his average commute time is now 75 minutes, compared to 25 minutes before the traffic patterns changed.
He said the traffic now routinely backs up onto bridge's upper level and is especially bad on Sundays when the right lane on East 62nd Street allows parking — adding it's deplorable that drivers are being charged the congestion toll for 'creeping 300 feet into the zone' to exit and enter on the lower-level.
'On Sundays, it's backed up to the middle of the bridge,' he said. 'They don't give a s—t! The DOT does not give a s—t! It's an open targeting of drivers.'
Traffic congestion near the Manhattan side of the bridge has historically been a problem, but it's now nonstop, said Sebastian, who lives on East 62nd Street near First Avenue.
'The traffic is 24 hours [a day], he said. 'It's a safety concern for pedestrians.'
Linda Santangelo, 61, of the Upper East Side, said she doesn't drive but is now forced dealing with the honking horns and car fumes the extra traffic congestion has brought to the neighborhood.
'I was surprised by the gridlock going on [because of the traffic changes], ' Santangelo said. 'And I do a see a lot of extra traffic on the Upper East Side because of this. It's gridlock everywhere!'
Councilwoman Julie Menin, a Manhattan Democrat who represents the Upper East Side-Lenox Hill areas near the bridge, told The Post her office has fielded plenty of complaints from local residents about the changes causing 'added congestion.'
'DOT should review this location to determine whether this intersection should be reverted to a configuration that better supports traffic flow and continues to make our streets safer for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists,' said Menin.
DOT spokesman Vincent Barone said the bike lane project was put in place by the de Blasio administration 'to create safer crosstown connections for cyclists and pedestrians while also preserving the same number of vehicular travel lanes during rush hours in a historically congested area near the bridge.'
'These corridors were chosen for safety upgrades in part because they were the locations of hundreds of injuries and multiple pedestrian fatalities — and if there are any delays due to drivers dangerously and illegally parking in travel lanes, we will work with our sister agencies on enforcement,' he said.
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