Lower East Side's Allen Street Mall Getting Spiffified

Just when outrage about Soho's Grand Street bike lane is dying down, a tipster sends along the above shots of work underway this morning on Allen Street, at the corner of Rivington, on the Lower East Side. Yes, friends, that's a brand spaking new protected bike lane that's coming to life alongside the Allen Street Mall—a bike lane that's going to reduce Allen Street to a mere two lanes, a move planners hope will curb excessive driver speed through Chinatown and the LES. To follow: "higher curbs, permanents planting beds, and post and chain fencing." Might the "Park Avenue of the Plain People" need an upscale rebranding after all?
· Coalition Gears Up to Defend Allen Street Mall Project [The Lo-Down]
· Allen Street: Park Avenue of the Plain People [Curbed]