Citi Bikes docked in Long Island City (Photo: Queens Post)
Sept. 5, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez
Citi Bike is slated to begin installing new stations and rolling in bikes to Astoria and Long Island City in the coming weeks, according to the Department of Transportation.
A total of 66 Citi Bike stations are expected to be installed after Sept. 12 in the two neighborhoods, with work completed by the end of the year, according to a spokesperson for the DOT.
In Astoria, the newest and second neighborhood in Queens to be part of the city-wide bike share program, 59 stations will be installed in a stretch from Queens Plaza South up to Ditmars Boulevard. For the full resolution map of new locations in Astoria, click here.
As for Long Island City, which already has 13 Citi Bike stations, an additional seven stations have been drawn out to increase station density in the area, according to the DOT. For a map showing the new LIC locations, click here.
The expansion into Astoria and the several station additions to Long Island City are part of the second phase of Citi Bike’s expansion, which also includes installation work for Manhattan and Brooklyn. Work is expected to begin on Sept. 12 in Harlem and continue on a rolling basis until all stations in the Manhattan neighborhood are installed. Then, installation work will move on through Astoria and Long Island City, and finally into Brooklyn until all stations are installed, a DOT spokesperson said.
Stations are ready to use on the same day they are installed, the DOT said.
In all, 140 stations, which include the 66 in Astoria and Long Island City, and 2000 new bikes will join over 600 stations and 10,000 bikes that currently make up the four-year-old bike share program. With the 2,000 additional bikes added in the coming months, the number of bikes in the system will have doubled to 12,000 from the initial 6,000 since its 2013 launch.
Citi Bike, operated by Motivate, was introduced to Long Island City in 2015.
Locations for Citi Bike stations are decided on through DOT surveys and community input, including community boards, elected officials, and public workshops. Some stations in both Astoria and Long Island City have been reworked and eventually relocated after drafts for the sites were released.
“I thank our partners at Motivate; after just over four years on the streets of New York City, it’s now difficult to imagine a New York City without Citi Bike,” DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement.
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20 Comments
Ugh..more bike stations and less parking. There aren’t enough people riding their bike in Astoria to warrant this. People will still own cars and need to park them. Parking is very hard here as it is. Car Lanes have been changed into bike lanes and I very rarely see bike riders using them. And most of these bike riders DO NOT follow the rules of the road. This must start to be inforced. Go away citi bike stations and bike lanes!
As for not many people using bike lanes, last year there were 14 million rentals of Citi Bikes – and that doesn’t take into account ANY privately owned bikes. And that is with almost no Citi Bikes in Queens. As for not having enough space for cars that’s because there are more and more cars in NYC every single year. Please explain how nixing bikes for cars would help. As for following laws I personally see cars go through red lights and stop signs EVERY SINGLE DAY. Join us. More bikes are good for all. Even drivers.
Astoria heights???? This isn’t Brooklyn man. No trendy name changes here. Go back to the mid west and change that hipster douche.
Just another excuse to add to the list for late food delivers!
WTF is Astoria Heights? You mean East Elmhurst?
FYI, Astoria Heights, or Upper Ditmars, is bounded by Hazen Street to the west, La Guardia Airport to the east, Bowery Bay to the north, and Astoria Boulevard and the Grand Central Parkway to the south. It is mostly a quiet middle class neighborhood of one- and two-family private homes. I do not live in that area. I live two blocks away where they left out the bike lanes and stations. And I am very happy about it. Its practically the only family oriented area left in Astoria if you are looking for peace.
Thanks for not installing bike lanes/stations in Astoria Heights. The rest of Astoria sucks nowadays.
Do you think that Astoria will suck less if those bikers would drive and add cars to the road? How is that possible? Furthermore, you can probably park 10 bikes in every parking space intended for one car. The math works out nice.
Astorians will add more cars to the road whether there are bike lanes or not. Most homeowners are older and drive. This is good for mostly the youth.
It’s a partial solution for sure but we need to do something. Subways are the best solution but they cost billions and take decades to complete. We can’t accommodate an unlimited number of cars.
I’m 42 years old and ride a citibike to work. Does it mean I’m a youth. If it does thanks! After all I’m healthier than I was when I was in high school or college by simply riding the bike everyday.
WTF is Astoria Heights? You mean East Elmhurst?
Please be sure to use the bike lanes on 20rh Ave
Ugg, bikes. Go away fast.
Every biker means one less person driving or getting on a train or a buss. It also means that we may have a quieter and cleaner city.
Astoria is dirty. I hope the city hires people to clean all those bike stations daily.
Bikes will make Astoria MORE dirty? Cars are so clean.
Not talking air pollution! I’m talking about our sidewalk and streets (things the city fines homeowners for). Areas where people congregate and leave their trash behind. Similar to train stations and bus stops. Most are a mess and filled with people’s trash (coffee cups, napkins, containers, smokes, papers, food, etc.). The areas were workers were hired to clean daily and place garbage bags in public trash cans have improved. But there are busy areas in Astoria where that clean-up work program does not occur and the sidewalk and streets are a mess which just blows onto residential homes and fines the homeowners.
Have you seen the area’s in Manhattan near Citi-bikes? The areas are clean and people do not leave garbage near the stations. Can’t blame the bike riders.
Take a walk around Astoria where many people congregate like a bus stop, subway station and or park that is not currently being cleaned up by a city crew and you will see what a mess these places are. Manhattan buildings usually higher people to clean around the building premises. Many homeowner and business in Astoria typically ignore the outside.