Bikers to be escorted along Boulevard of Death

Bikers on Queens Boulevard, also known as the Boulevard of Death, now have a bike escort to protect them from the dangers of that major route, which still does not have a bike lane although politicians and advocates have been pushing for one.
On the second Friday of every month, members of Transportation Alternatives (TA), a city organization advocating walking, biking and the use of public transportation, will lead an escorted bike ride along Queens Boulevard - from the Queensboro Bridge to Elmhurst - to provide riders with a safe group to get home with.
The escort will take place starting at 6:30 p.m. since the evening commute occurs in a narrower timeframe, but is also filled with more people than the morning one, explained TA spokesperson Wiley Norvell.
The first escorted ride of the campaign called Bike Commuter Pool took place on Friday, September 12, despite the torrential rain.
“There is safety in numbers for the thousands of bicyclists who bike on Queens Boulevard each day,” said Paul Steely White, TA executive director. “Biking home together will give a measure of protection until we win a fully-protected bike lane.”
About 100 bicyclists and pedestrians are struck on Queens Boulevard each year, according to figures from the office Councilmember James Gennaro, an advocate for a bike lane on the boulevard.
Despite this incident rate, thousands of riders are compelled to use the boulevard each day because few parallel routes exist, and because it connects many of the borough’s neighborhoods and transit hubs, Norvell explained.
“It’s hard to imagine a successful bike route in Queens that doesn’t include Queens Boulevard,” he said.
Gennaro echoed this sentiment in a July letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Jeanette Sadik-Khan. “The lack of dedicated bike lanes on Queens Boulevard leaves cyclists without a safe path to travel and leaves motorists and pedestrians without the adequate separation they need to avoid collisions,” Gennaro wrote.
“The mayor has come up with a three-year, 200-mile plan for bike lanes and a more extensive plan by 2030, but the three-year-plan does not include Queens Boulevard,” said Gennaro this summer.
Bike riding in New York City has increased by 77 percent since 2000, DOT figures reveal.