DOT Releases Draft Plan of Citi Bike Expansion Across Astoria and LIC

Citi Bike (Queens Post/ Michael Dorgan)

Oct. 23, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

A preliminary map of Citi Bike’s continued expansion into western Queens has been released showing more than 50 additional docking stations going down in Astoria, Woodside and Long Island City.

The draft map was presented by the NYC Dept. of Transportation to Community Board 1’s Transportation Committee Monday as part of plans to increase Citi Bike’s bike-sharing network in the area.

The preliminary plan calls for 51 docking stations to be constructed in an area from Shore Boulevard and 20^th Avenue in the northwest of Astoria to Ditmars Boulevard and the Grand Central Parkway in the east. The area runs through Woodside and south as far as 43^rd Street and 37^th Avenue in Long Island City.

The total area of this expansion covers 2.11 square miles, according to a DOT spokesperson.

Of the 51 new docking stations, 31 would be installed on roadways and 19 on sidewalks–with one other station on a pedestrianized roadbed space. All the stations will be solar-powered and wireless and will not be hardwired into the ground.

The number of bikes that would fill all of the docking stations has yet to be revealed and it is unclear how many parking spaces, if any, would be lost.

The DOT is looking for public feedback on the plans and will host a virtual town hall event on Oct. 28 with the agency releasing an updated plan in the middle of November.

Construction of the docking stations is scheduled to begin in early 2021 and will take around two months to complete, the DOT said.

Citi Bike first came to Queens in 2015 with docking stations in Long Island City. The program was then expanded into Astoria and the far reaches of Long Island City in 2017.

The latest expansion is part of a partnership between DOT and Citi Bike to increase the city’s current service area by 35 square miles and triple the number of bikes to 40,000. The cost of the project is around $100 million and is being funded entirely by the ride-sharing company Lyft.

The plans for the western Queens expansion follow a public outreach process where the DOT solicited feedback from residents on where the docking stations should be located.

The process sought to space out the docking stations and have all the docks within three to five minutes walking distance of each other. Other considerations include keeping the docks away from fire hydrants, ensuring docks don’t block travel lanes and that sidewalk stations have adequate room for pedestrians.

Those looking to attend the virtual town hall event discussing the western Queens expansion can register in advance by clicking here. The event will be held via Zoom and all attendees will each receive one Citi Bike Day pass.