Bailey Avenue bike lane boosts safety but sparks parking concerns in Kingsbridge

On a busy Kingsbridge street, parking has been replaced by infrastructure including a protected bike lane — improving safety, officials say, but removing dozens of spaces as business owners push for solutions that accommodate both customers and cyclists.

The redesign is part of a broader effort by the city to address longstanding safety concerns along Bailey Avenue, a 1.1 mile corridor that the New York City Department of Transportation ranks among the top 10 percent of the Bronx’s most dangerous streets. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 180 pedestrians, bikers and drivers were hurt on the strip, including 18 who sustained severe injuries and two who were killed.

The agency noted the corridor, which previously lacked dedicated bike lanes, was used by roughly 150 cyclists a day, many of whom navigated around double-parked vehicles or merged into traffic. When it came to pedestrians, more than 43 percent of injuries along the stretch were caused by drivers failing to yield to people crossing with the right of way.

Under the city’s plan, Bailey Avenue was reconfigured between Van Cortlandt Park South and West 225th Street to include a two-way protected bike lane separated by barriers. It also added pedestrian islands, curb extensions and redesigned intersections intended to slow traffic and reduce conflicts.

But for Gladys Grijalva and other business owners in the area, the changes have discouraged customers from visiting altogether.

“If they didn’t find [somewhere to stop], they’re gonna leave,” Grijalva said, who has owned Sugargirl for 17 years.  “I have customers that come here daily for coffee and a danish. They won’t come anymore. They don’t take that risk of coming in if they can’t find parking right away, they just keep going, and those are the people I used to rely on every single day.”

Grijalva emphasized that her frustration is not with cyclists themselves, but with the design of the street.

“I don’t have a problem with the bikers at all,” she said. “They deserve to be safe too. But it has to make sense. It can’t be that businesses suffer this much and nothing is adjusted to help us.”

She said the loss of more than 40 parking spaces has created daily challenges for customers trying to stop by.

“A lot of people that come in, they’re triple parking, they’re standing by their cars so they don’t get tickets, they’re rushing in and out,” she said.  “It’s stressful for them, and at the same time it’s hurting us because people don’t want to deal with that.”

The financial impact has been steep. Grijalva estimates business has dropped by as much as 60 to 70 percent, forcing her to take on more of the workload herself.

“Now most employees only work five days, some people four,” she said.  “One of my employees who used to come five days now only comes on weekends. I’m doing more myself, my brother helps — we’re just trying to keep it going the best we can.”

A few storefronts away, Fernando Quintuna, who has worked at Fernando’s Cleaners & Tailor Shop for more than a decade, said he has seen a similar decline in customer traffic.

“It’s terrible right now for us,” he said. “I lost a lot of customers, and the city doesn’t think about us. Nobody came to talk to us — they just painted and that’s it, and now we’re the ones dealing with everything that comes after.”

Still, Quintuna said he is not opposed to bike lanes, but believes the design should better reflect the needs of businesses, like putting in loading zones.

“Put it on the other side where there’s residential,” he said. “That would be better for business, but there are also some businesses there, so I’m not sure. I’m not saying don’t do bike lanes — I’m saying do it in a way that works for everybody.”

That call for compromise has also surfaced at Community Board 8 meetings, where members have raised concerns about the parking spot removal and the potential ripple effects on traffic and local commerce.

“I’m concerned that hard working middle class people who have businesses, who put their heart and soul in things are now are going to be in a situation where they have no income, their livelihood is going to be destroyed as a result of people not having access to come to their to their businesses,” said Debbie Allen, the chair of the traffic and transportation committee.

The DOT maintained the project was a necessary trade-off, noting the stretch had long been plagued by illegal double parking that contributed to crashes and created unsafe conditions.

“This redesign makes traveling on Bailey Avenue, one of The Bronx’s most dangerous streets,  safer for everyone by providing pedestrian and bus boarding islands, dedicated cycling space and streamlined traffic patterns for drivers,” Will Livingston said, DOT Deputy Press Secretary. “These design features have been successfully installed across the city and are proven tools to save lives and are good for local businesses.”

An agency spokesperson, however, said bike lanes can benefit local businesses, pointing to a 2022 analysis by transportation outlet Streetblogs. Using city data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the outlet found that businesses along Queens’ Skillman Avenue saw a 12 percent increase in sales after protected bike lanes were installed.

Allen, however, criticized what she described as a one-size-fits-all approach applied citywide.

“We ended up passing a resolution against it, and I don’t know necessarily if bike lanes are appropriate for that specific corridor,” she said. “It feels like the decision was already made before the community weighed in.”

Before construction began, transportation officials conducted a walkthrough with Allen, board members and elected officials, but the project proceeded despite local opposition to several aspects of the plan. A second walkthrough is scheduled for April 9, where the board and local leaders will continue advocating for a design that better reflects the needs of the neighborhood.

The spokesperson said that, in addition to meeting with community boards and sharing redesign plans with community leaders and residents, the agency held 10 community workshops and attended community events.

The DOT did not comment on whether it conducted direct outreach to businesses.