Cyclists Talk Bike Lanes In Maspeth
When it comes to biking through western Queens, cyclists are in for a mixed bag-many of the most direct routes are also the most congested, according to residents who attended a city workshop last Saturday, May 11, at Maspeth High School to plan biking infrastructure within Community Board 5′s confines.
The workshop, held by the city’s Department of City Planning (DCP) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), took input from residents and cyclists on how to make the area’s streets more bike-friendly.
According to many at the workshop, roads likeMyrtleAvenue, Met- ropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road are often the quickest, most direct routes through the district, but cyclists have to contend with buses, heavy traffic, cars parked on the street and a multitude of pedestrians. The kicker is that many of the heaviesttraveled roads are not wide enough for bike lanes, but the upshot is the city has more information about how cyclists are using the streets.
Attendees were asked to mark their routes on a map while identifying ideal places for bike routes, bike racks and other cycling infrastructure and also noting dangerous areas that need the city’s attention.
Generally, there was a desire for bike parking near schools, train stations, parks and shopping areas. There was also a consensus that cyclists need safe reliable roads for North-South and East-West commuting.
Jessame Hannus, who attended the workshop and commutes through Ridgewood to Manhattan on her bicycle, said the city should focus on facilitating bike commutes.
“There are plenty of adorable little streets I can use when I’m riding around the neighborhood, but they don’t need bike lanes-I don’t feel unsafe on them,” she said, adding that the arterial roads need cycling infrastructure most.
Justin Patrick, who also attended the meeting, echoed the sentiment, saying riders in western Queens need a reliable route to Williamsburg and Manhattan.
Kristina Schmidt of the DCP told the crowd that the city wants to find ways to connect the Board 5 area to Sunnyside, Williamsburg, Bushwick and the Broadway Junction subway station, as well as Jackson Heights and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the north.
While some roads were considered too congested, others are just in poor shape.
Rust Street, which generally runs alongside Newtown Creek, provides access to Sunnyside, Long Island City and Greenpoint, but trucks running through area have left the road treacherous for bikers, said members of one group.
Cooper Avenue connects Middle Village, Rego Park and Forest Hills to Brooklyn and provides access to the Broadway Junction subway station, but the road is disjointed, wrought with potholes and is poorly lit, residents said.
Kristina Schmidt said construction on the Cooper Avenue underpass between 74th and 79th streets will include a bike lane and sidewalk separate from traffic, allowing non-drivers to use the byway more safely.
She said there are three types of bike lanes: Protected lanes, which are separated from traffic by a wall or curb; bike lanes, which run along streets between traffic and sidewalks; and shared roads, in which bikers use the same lane as traffic.
Other streets that cyclists noted need a repave are Grand, Metropolitan and Myrtle avenues.
Resident Steve Scofield said there is a 311 app available that helps customers report potholes to the city. He said the DOT is responsive and often fixes the holes within 10 days. John Maier, a resident and member of Community Board 5, said he has used the app with success, noting attaching photos often helps response time.
Groups also identified two major bottlenecks along their commutes: A portion of EliotAvenue in ridgewood and the Grand Avenue bridge connecting Ridgewood to Brooklyn.
The narrow section of Eliot Avenue that bisects Mt. Olivet Cemetery came up frequently. Most residents said the street would be ideal for a bike lane-it’s wide, the surface is new and the avenue connects to other major roads-except for the quartermile through the cemetery, which has only enough room for a single car to move in either direction.
The DCP’s Jack Schmidt said the city would study the feasibility of widening that section of Eliot Avenue. It’s all a question of how far the city’s right-of-way extends from the road, he said. According to Jack Schmidt, if public land is available, the city will try to make the pass bike-friendly.
Maier and resident Art Brown both said Grand Avenue is the best way to get to Williamsburg-and Manhattan via the Williamsburg Bridge-from Ridgewood, but the surface is treacherous and the bridge over Newtown Creek is narrow. Residents also noted the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge over English Kills, a half-mile from the Grand Street Bridge, creates problems for bikers headed to Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Brown and his group also stressed the need to redesign Queens Boulevard, which cyclists call the “Boulevard of Death.” The road connects much of Queens, but many consider it too dangerous to use.
Frank Rosado, who cycles to work every day, said he never uses Queens Boulevard because it’s too risky. Still, many riders at the workshop said an East-West thoroughfare that runs through multiple neighborhoods is exactly what they need.
Rosado said biking would be safer if the city tried to change driving culture and beefed up traffic enforcement. He said there often exists an animosity between motorists and the bikers they consider impediments or obstacles. Many times, when cyclists are hit, police do little to drivers who are at-fault, he said.
Community Board 6 Member Peter Beadle agreed.
“The drivers’ course is five hours-they could work in a 30- minute course on bike safety,” he said .
Several residents noted that people interested in better policing should start a dialogue with their precinct’s commanding officer by attenting precinct community council meetings.
While city planning has little to do with traffic enforcement, it does try to make cycling safer by defining where its best for cyclists to ride, according to Jack Schmidt.
“Clarity leads to safety,” he said.
After the workshop, city planning will compile the data collected from the workshop, study the feasability of desired infrastructure, collect community board input and send plans to the DOT for implementation, according to Jack Schmidt. He could not provide a timetable on the project.
Expanding bike infrastructure is part of the city’s Sustainable Streets initiative, according to Kristina Schmidt. She said since 2006, the city has installed more than 250 miles of bike routes and that pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities have dropped 6.4 percent since then.
The program looks to incorporate community input and planning best practices to enhance streets for all users while minimizing unnecessary construction, according to Kristina Schmidt.
“We don’t just put in [bike] routes because there is room,” she said.
