A tractor-trailer driver who apparently didn't want to be inconvenienced by a detour took over a two-way Williamsburg bike lane, driving against vehicle traffic, according to videos obtained by Gothamist.
The videos Gothamist obtained Thursday show the truck driving the wrong way in the bike lane on Kent Avenue, its hazard lights blinking as it rustles the leafy tops of trees lining the sidewalk. Another clip shows the driver make an illegal left turn onto Metropolitan Avenue.
The Department of Transportation converted Kent Avenue to a one-way street and put in the bike lane in 2009. It's an official truck route (minus the bike lane, of course), but it only goes one way -- north.
To go south, the driver would have had to head at least five blocks over to Roebling Street. Taking over the bike lane against traffic was quicker.
Residents have complained about excessive truck traffic in the neighborhood since the bike lane installation and re-routing.
Rogue cars have taken to barreling down bike lanes in the city amid a fraught battle for space between cyclists and drivers. In June, a Volkswagen sedan was captured on video taking up nearly all of the Pulaski Bridge bike path. And in May, a Fiat commandeered a bike lane in Queens.
