Press Releases
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2025
Contact: (212) 839-4850, press@dot.nyc.gov
NYC DOT Temporarily Renames First Avenue Tunnel in Celebration of United Nations World Bicycle Day
First Avenue Tunnel Is Temporarily Renamed the 'World Bicycle Day Bike Underpass' To Celebrate World Bicycle Day on June 3
Bike New York President Ken Podziba, World Bicycle Day Originator Leszek Sibilski, and NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez celebrate 'World Bicycle Day' alongside DOT employees at the First Avenue Tunnel outside United Nations Headquarters.
NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced that the First Avenue Tunnel has been temporarily renamed the 'World Bicycle Day Bike Underpass' in celebration of World Bicycle Day on June 3. In 2018 the United Nations General Assembly declared June 3 as World Bicycle Day, recognizing the global impact of the bicycle on humanity. For over 200 years, the bicycle has revolutionized transportation for people around the world. World Bicycle Day is about celebrating the health, environmental, and social benefits of riding a bike. Cycling connects riders to essential infrastructure and services like education and healthcare, provides a healthy form of exercise, and contributes to cleaner air and less congestion on our streets.
At the doorstep of UN headquarters in Midtown, the First Avenue Tunnel and protected bike lanes have proven popular with New York City residents and visitors from around the world alike. In Fall 2024, more than 5,000 cyclists used the First Avenue Tunnel each day.
There are an estimated 226 million cycling trips each year across the city. The Adams administration has built a record 87.5 miles of new protected bike lanes and upgraded an additional 20 miles in the past three years alone to meet record demand for bike infrastructure throughout New York.
"With record bike ridership and a historic expansion of our protected bike lane network, we're making it safer and easier than ever for the record number of New Yorkers choosing cycling by building infrastructure and providing education to meet the moment," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "Riding a bike is not a luxury, it is a critical form of transportation New Yorkers rely on to work, go to school, and to stay active."
The First Avenue Tunnel provides cyclists an express route beneath the United Nations Headquarters at 42nd Street.
Completed in Fall 2024, the First Avenue Tunnel protected bike lane is a critical upgrade that enhances safety for cyclists by providing an express route bypassing busy intersections around the United Nations headquarters. At over a third mile long, the First Avenue Tunnel is the first tunnel in the United States to be repurposed for bike traffic while maintaining vehicle traffic.
This protected bike lane has the added benefit of calming traffic along this corridor by organizing vehicle traffic in the tunnel as well as on the street above. The completion of this project is a direct reflection of the Adams administration's commitment to delivering safe cycling infrastructure and roadways for New Yorkers.
New Tools for a Growing Cycling Community
In April of this year, NYC DOT introduced new cyclist-friendly traffic signals on Manhattan's Third Avenue. These smaller signals, placed at cyclist eye level, are designed to improve visibility and compliance, and have proven effective in increasing safety.
The agency has also been working to install double-wide bike lanes to continue fostering record ridership growth and create comfortable cycling experiences, with wider bike lanes installed on some of the city's busiest corridors, including Second Avenue, Third Avenue, Sixth Avenue, and Ninth Avenue.
Earlier this year, the Adams administration implemented 'Green Wave' signal timing along the corridor, with traffic signals now coordinated so that vehicles traveling at 15 MPH will encounter consecutive green lights. While the speed limit remains 25 MPH, average daytime travel speeds are generally lower on the busy corridor. The 'Green Wave' treatment is intended to improve safety for cyclists and for pedestrians by discouraging speeding and reducing red-light running. Prior to these improvements, this stretch of Third Avenue was designated as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor with 31 severe traffic injuries and five fatalities (four pedestrians and one cyclist) between 2020 and 2024.
This past May, NYC DOT celebrated 'Bike Month' with free bike helmet and equipment giveaways. NYC DOT also curated a list of self-guided rides through scenic and newly upgraded cycling routes.
"Today I'd like to thank New York City for becoming the first megacity among over fifty worldwide to issue a formal World Bicycle Day Proclamation," said World Bicycle Day Originator Leszek Sibilski. "We hope, as so often happens, the world will follow New York's lead. Through bold gestures like these, perhaps one day we'll proudly call the five boroughs the city that never stops cycling."