Via DOT
June 22, 2016 By Michael Florio
The Department of Transportation’s plan to install a bike route connecting Astoria and Jackson Heights via 31st Avenue got conditional approval from Community Board 1 last night.
The DOT saw a need for bike lanes that run east and west in Queens, connecting the neighborhoods as well as parks throughout the community, DOT project manager Nick Carey said. The route also stretches to the East River and the Flushing Bay Promenade.
“There are parts of the neighborhood that are poorly served by the subway and park system,” Carey said. “We want to connect the neighborhoods, and connect people to the waterfront and parks in a way that won’t burden drivers.”
The proposal would implement both shared and dedicated bicycle lanes throughout Astoria along 31st Avenue.
Portions of 31st Avenue are only 40 feet wide, including from Vernon Boulevard to Crescent Street and 32nd Street to 49th Street. The DOT would paint markings to create a shared bicycle lane along these stretches.
However, portions that are 50 feet wide, including Crescent Street to 32nd Street and 49th Street to the BQE, would allow the DOT to install dedicated bicycle lanes.
Carey asserted that the bike lanes will help combat speeding by narrowing the space vehicles have on the road.
The DOT chose 31st Avenue for this bike route because it is a straight shot connecting the East River and Flushing Bay, and is already utilized by cyclists. In November, the DOT did a study of 31st Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets and found that 200 bicyclists rode daily during the week and nearly 300 rode daily on weekends.
In addition to the bike lanes, the DOT would also implement high visibility crosswalks along 31st Avenue, as well as a curb extension at Hobart Street and 51st Street. The DOT is also conducting a study to see if a traffic signal is needed at 49th Street and 55th Street.
CB 1 had tabled the proposal for a 31st Avenue bike route in March, after raising safety concerns on the stretch between 55th and 59th Street.
The Board’s transportation committee went on a walk-through of the route with DOT officials in April, and pointed out their concerns, according to committee chair Robert Piazza. One major issue was vehicles double-parking outside of Paragon Honda Service Center (57-06 31st Ave.), creating dangerous conditions for cyclists.
Tuesday’s presentation reflected some minor changes to the proposal since then.
The DOT decided to change parking meters in front of a grocery story, on the southside of 31st Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets, from two hour parking to one, to increase turnover.
“So when people are lining up to enter the service center, there is more space for them,” Carey explained.
Board members were not pleased with this solution.
“Meter parking does not get rid of double parked cars by Honda,” CB 1 member Danielle Tharrington said. “They arrive and double park before meter parking even goes into effect.”
“I don’t think this is a safe area for bikes to ride past this,” Piazza said. “Riding past the car dealership will put cyclists in danger.”
The Board discussed adding a detour to the bike route, which would go up 55th Street and then along 32nd Avenue until 60th Street, where it would return to 31st Avenue. This detour would bypass the service center.
However, Carey stated that the DOT has found that cyclists will not veer off the main road for a route that “zig zags.”
“They would continue to ride along 31st Avenue,” he said.
Multiple cyclists in attendance echoed his sentiment.
“This is a point A to point B route,” one said.
“This goes against cyclist safety if they do not have a dedicated space to ride,” another said.
Ultimately, CB 1 voted to approve the proposed bike route, but included a condition to add the detour. The Board also included conditions to not reduce the metered parking time to one hour, as well as the DOT providing bike safety workshops in the neighborhood.
The Board’s vote is purely a recommendation that gets sent to the DOT. The agency will discuss these ideas internally, before making a final decision.
However, Piazza is not convinced the recommended conditions will be taken seriously, as the City is going forward with bike lanes on Queens Boulevard after CB 4 voted against it and a bike corral was installed in Dutch Kills after CB 1 shot down that plan.
The agency had planned to install the lanes in late summer/early Fall, Carey said.
Community Board 3 approved the part of the proposal that runs through their district last week.
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8 Comments
Astounding that people need lanes in order to know how to ride their bikes. These neighborhoods were always connected. geez.
Cyclists don’t need lanes in order to know how to ride bikes. Bikes are already present on every part of 31st Avenue. Sharrows and lanes are so drivers learn how to share the road! Reminders for them that they need to watch out for other road users. Do pedestrians need a crosswalk in order to know how to cross a street? No! But having a crosswalk helps make a street safer by signaling to drivers to watch out. Yes, the neighborhoods have always been connected! But this helps connect them in a safer manner.
About time.
It’s hard for DOT to take Piazza’s suggestions seriously when they are so misguided and off-base. Unsafe driving on the five blocks that Bob is concerned about should be met with NYPD enforcement of unsafe driving and with road redesign to discourage the unsafe driving behavior, which is what the proposal calls for. Rerouting the bike lane for those blocks and leaving the status quo on that dangerous stretch rewards bad behavior and puts cyclist at even more danger than before, by splitting bike traffic in two directions, as some will follow the detour and some take the direct route.
A five block detour doesn’t make much sense, the turns in front of oncoming traffic would create a more dangerous situation than a straight line. The board means well but this seems like a mistake. I’m glad thaf they support the route overall. But I think it’s wiser to defer to the DOT on how the route is designed.
We all know everyone believes that bike lanes are great so no need to comment .
Is the stupidest idea I ever heard you probably have nothing else to do getting paid for nothing
A great idea would be to lick the sidewalk in case you get lost you can find your way home using taste.
There, now you have heard a more stupid idea so you can’t say my other idea is the stupidest.