Cycling in Queens

Slide show

Legal Restrictions on Cycling
There are multiple legal restrictions on cycling in New York City that are for the safety of riders. These are released by the NYC Department of Transportation but are often not publicized well, so not all cyclists know these rules. The first and most important legal restriction is that cyclists must ride on the street, not on the sidewalk. Many cyclists don’t know this and can actually get ticketed. The second legal restriction is that cyclists must ride with, not against, traffic. Cyclists are also treated like a vehicle in that they must stop at red lights and stop signs. For their safety, they must use marked bike lanes when available. Finally, they must use headlights, bells, horns, and reflectors for additional safety.

 

Dangers Facing Cyclists in New York City
Because NYC is one of the busiest and most populated cities in the world, cyclists face certain dangers that they may not face when biking in less populated cities or the country. The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) gives some suggestions for making cycling in NYC safer. The first is to ride in a straight line, which many riders may not abide by but is actually for their own safety. They should also look and signal when changing lanes or turning and make eye contact with drivers. They should watch out for car doors, which are a huge danger for ridings in NYC and cause multiple accidents. They should stay visible, using headlights and reflective clothing and gear on their bicycles. It is recommended to not wear earphones. Finally, it is important to wear a helmet in the case of an accident.

Bike Map of Queens

As shown in the map, many of the bike lanes in Queens are clustered together primarily along the west end of the borough. Areas like Long Island City and Astoria have plenty of bike lanes to safely ride in. However, in much of the rest of Queens bike lanes are sparse and riders are forced to travel in the car lanes.

Statistics – Reported Bike Crashes
As of October 2011, the NYC DOT was required to record data on bicycle safety in NYC. From then until the end of 2013, there were 8 fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes in Queens. However, there were a total of 1880 injuries resulting from bicycle crashes in Queens. (Also note that there are probably many injuries that occur that go unreported.) In fact, 93% of all bicycle crashes are motor vehicle related.

Safety- A commuter’s point of view
We interviewed Mr. Joseph Gong, who works at Queens College. Gong bikes about 2 miles to and from work each day. Gong enjoys biking to work and says that biking is becoming more popular as a form of commute. There are many benefits to commuting by bike, especially in NYC- it relieves urban congestion, is good for health, and is great for the environment.
But, something that may deter people from biking to school or work is the concern of safety. Gong voiced this concern which is common of many cyclists in Queens and the greater city. It is important to stay safe as an urban rider. Not all streets have bike paths, so cyclists must ride with traffic on those streets, which can be dangerous. Opening car doors, abrupt turns, and cars double parking in bike lanes cause accidents. The Department of Transportation has released some tips for cyclists on how to stay safe, as we have discussed before, but accidents that result in major injuries and unfortunately deaths are still occurring. Future plans by the city to create more bike paths is meant to make the city safer for cyclists and to encourage more people to commute this way.
In addition to the many people that commute by bike in Queens, it is also becoming more popular as a form of recreation. Gong says “The trend of bike culture in NY is only increasing.” He is part of the 5 Borough Bike Club, that has 3,000 members and is one of the 8 major bike clubs in NYC. Bike clubs go on tours around the city’s five boroughs, doing up to 100 miles on tours. On weekends, he and a few others usually ride 25-30 miles. He says it is important to ride with large groups so there is more visibility, as well as choose paths in low traffic areas for safety. Like many New Yorkers, Gong loves this city. He calls himself an “urbanphile” and uses biking to explore new parts of the city. He has ridden on every major bridge in the city with bike paths. NYC was rated most bike friendly city in the U.S. by Bicycle Magazine and has the most miles of bike trails than any other city in the U.S.
Gong sees a bright future for cyclists in NYC- he wants Queens especially to catch up to the model set by many European countries, where biking is a major form of transportation. More bike paths and safety measures by the Department of Transportation can encourage more people to bike to commute as well as do it recreationally.

Citi Bikes coming to Queens
Citi Bike is about to make their first appearance in Queens, as they are scheduled come to Long Island City by the second half of 2015. The neighborhood will have 11 docking stations, and 317 bike docks in total. Astoria will follow with their own docking stations by 2017.

The Citi Bike App
NYC Bike Share is simultaneously working on improving their app. Currently the app mainly informs you of of station locations, bike availability, and routes. The improved app will allow Citi Bike users to count calories, count miles, and also receive real time reports on flat tires and broken seats.

Key Stations in Long Island City
NYC Bike Share, which runs Citi Bike, places their docking stations based on where the DOT suggests the communities want them. One key station will have 31 bike docks on 21st street near the Queensbridge Houses, which is the largest public housing development in the United States. Another key station will have 35 docks on 44th Drive near Citigroup Building in Court Square. The East River Ferry Stop will have a station nearby on Center Boulevard. There will also be docks placed on Jackson Avenue, near MoMa PS1, a contemporary Art institute, as well as by Laguardia Community College.

Plans for Queens Boulevard
Under Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan, Queens Boulevard is undergoing a complete renovation. This will include new bike lanes, turning signals and pedestrian space. The first phase of renovation between Roosevelt Ave. and 73rd St. will be done in August. This 1.3 mile strip is the deadliest strip of the boulevard, though the deaths were not necessarily attributed to biking. Initially, bikeways will be striped on the service roads between Roosevelt Ave and 73rd Street by August, and later be cast in concrete. Additionally, cars will have to stop before making a right turn when switching from the main to service road, thereby yielding to bikers. This is in response to the Boulevard’s having more than three dozen fatalities from 2003 to 2013. The city will spend $100 million on renovating the boulevard’s entire 7-miles. The rest of Queens Boulevard will be renovated by the summer of 2018.

Hayes Lord – Director of Bicycle Program for DOT
We spoke to Mr. Lord about what the future of bicycling in Queens looks like. He said that the DOT doesn’t have its own vision for Queens, but rather works with the community boards and elected officials to give the community boards what they want. He even said that Long Island City’s board wants a network of bike routes, but Astoria’s doesn’t, so multiple times they’ve had to stop a route right at the border.
There is clearly a change of culture and people are realizing that biking is a good mode of transportation. Hence the community boards are looking more favorably on it. The DOT does bike counts on the East River bridges, and the Queens volume has been increasing year after year.
Two years ago they started working with Long Island City to build biking networks, but until then Queens was basically unchartered territory and they realized there was a void. In addition, they are not building networks in Ridgewood and Flushing Meadows.
Eastern Queens is more suburban than western Queens, and the commercial centers are farther away, and it is unlikely that there will be any interest in the near future in using bikes to transport, but there is interest in recreational biking, which is why they are building a network in Flushing Meadows.
To summarize, bicycling as a mode of transportation is on the rise because the communities want it. The DOT has started building networks in western Queens and will move east. He expects that even those communities unfavorable to biking will grow to like it because of a prevalent changing culture. For example, he expects Astoria to be more favorable after they receive Citi Bike docks.

OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City
In Mayor De Blasio’s OneNYC report, the city introduces various initiatives and projects regarding cycling that it plans to implement in the coming years. Currently there are about 1680 miles of bike lanes in NYC. Over the next four years the city plans on adding another 200 miles of bike lanes, bringing the total to about 1880 miles of bike lanes. The city also will create new bridge options for cyclists, especially in between Queens and Brooklyn. In particular, the city plans on adding bike paths to the Pulaski and Honeywell Street Bridges. The Citi Bike share program will also be making headway into Queens within a year or two. By the end of 2017 Ctit Bike will be in Long Island City and Astoria. Finally, Citi Bike share program will be continuing and expanding its New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) discounts for residents of NYCHA housing developments. A docking station is scheduled to be installed at the Queens Bridge Housing Development by the end of 2015.

Conclusion
New York is evolving and fostering a strong green society. The City is helping cyclists by expanding bike lane infrastructure and protecting cyclists with medians. The City is seeking to expand ridership by broadening the Citi Bike bike share program to the outer boroughs.

Links Used
NYC Bike Maps
NYC Department of Transportation
OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City
Queens Boulevard Plans
Long Island City’s Citi Bike Stations
The Citi Bike App

For further information
NYC DOT- future projects