Upper East Side residents say they were blindsided by a slowdown in traffic lights that has turned Third Avenue into an e-bike “racetrack” and a “glacier” for drivers.
The Department of Transportation retimed its lights from 25 mph to 15 mph between 60th and 96th streets — with the local City Council member saying even she wasn’t given notice of the upheaval, which came with no community input.
“Bike riders are having a field day up here but this has done absolutely nothing to improve the lives of drivers,” said 54-year-old Upper East Sider Anthony La Russa.
“Third Avenue used to be every driver’s favorite avenue because of the way the lights were timed, but the city doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone,” La Russa added. “Now they’re forcing drivers to stay 10 miles below the speed limit, and all that’s doing is turning Third Avenue into a glacier – [but] for e-bikes, it’s no problem. They treat the roads like their own race track.”
The change comes after cyclist traffic increased 79% between October 2022 and October 2024, according to DOT data. But the traffic safety measure — part of a DOT plan called…
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