Dec. 10, 2015 By Christian Murray
The bicycle lanes on Queens Boulevard have come under fire in recent weeks with several pedestrians complaining that they are hazardous, while some drivers are upset about congestion.
Denise Keehan-Smith, chair of Community Board 2’s Transportation Committee, said Monday at a committee meeting that she has heard several complaints from Woodside residents about the dangers of crossing Queens Boulevard at 60th Street.
Smith, who lives near the crossing, said that she knows of three women who have been knocked down by cyclists who did not stop for the traffic lights.
“This is not only a design issue but an enforcement issue,” Smith said. “A lot of seniors cross at that spot but the cyclists are whizzing through.”
The bicycle lanes, which go for 1.3 miles of Queens Boulevard between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street, were installed in August and include several pedestrian safety improvements, the DOT said at the time. They were part of a redesign that the Mayor said would include expanded medians and intersections that would deter speeding.
Another problem that has surfaced has been the reduction of a moving lane between 63rd and 64th Streets on the south side of the Boulevard, which has reduced the service road to just one lane. This section of Queens Boulevard has five stores, including Deals, Subway and United Wine & Liquor.
Smith said that when trucks stop to unload their deliveries or someone parks illegally to run in to a store the Boulevard can get backed up, since there is only one moving lane.
The DOT has recently introduced a loading zone on 63st Street, Smith said, but the shop keepers need to be made aware of it.
Furthermore, there is a parking garage around the corner on 64th Street but it is only for customers of the liquor store. Even then, shoppers at the liquor store still have to drive around the block to get back on Queens Blvd after they make a purchase, since 64th Street is a one-way street.
The DOT will be visiting these sites with Smith next week to see how the situation can be improved. Smith said she has spoken to the 108 Precinct about greater enforcement, especially concerning the Queens Boulevard/60th Street location.
William Kregler, a Woodside resident, spoke at Community Board 2’s monthly meeting last week and lambasted the Board for approving the DOT’s Queens Boulevard plan.
“The Queens Boulevard bike lane project can be summed up by one word: ‘horrible, yikes,” Kregler said.
He said thousands of motorists have been inconvenienced for a few hundred bicyclists at most. He complained that it now takes much longer taking a bus along Queens Boulevard.
“This has made life miserable,” he said. “You have destroyed Queens Boulevard – you voted for it.”
Carol Terrano, a Community Board 2 member, was quick to remind Kregler that not everyone on the Board was convinced about the bicycle lanes.
“I’m in total agreement with you,” Terrano said. “I’ve stood up in meetings and written letters… but got nowhere.”
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144 Comments
My predominant mode of transportation is bicycle. I find that though the intentions for building the bike lanes were sincere, as far as I can tell, the designs, implementation, and law enforcement are misguided at best, and horrific at worst. I also hate it when bike riders run lights, but we can’t stop people from doing that without enforcement. Also, the lanes should have been designed such that the bicyclists have to stop as little as possible (cars included). I think the best solution would be to have synchronized lights that go one after another ensuring that traffic goes smoothly. But seeing the implementation of projects by the City of New York, I am skeptical that such a thing would happen. To all the car drivers out there, we understand and sympathize with you, as some are car drivers too. We also want a little piece of road in which we can ride safely, but we also understand that the design is pretty darn terrible (who thought of pedestrians in the middle of the boulevard?). What we need to do is shift the blame from against each other (city, cyclists, cars) and tell the city to change the design. Bicyclists still want the lanes, just not the way they are now. Plus, the lanes as of now are not near anything too interesting. So ridership would be less there than say, 1st ave or 2nd ave. We need to tell the city to change the design of the lanes, as well as bring in more people, connections and links, and businesses which will make the boulevard much more productive than it is now.
should the infamous Boulevard of Death, Queens Blvd. add bikes into the mix?
Public health should ALWAYS come first.
Who cares if your commute time is impacted, you selfish fukcs. People are whining about a few minutes more travel time, DEAL WITH IT.
The lanes are here to stay, this is a global movement to reduce traffic mortality.
And here it is people…i admire the balls of this Leftist-NWO rat of the U.N. to call it like it is…i do.
But it’s this indoctrinated, cotton-picker of the DemocRat Party’s wicked “global vision” to dampen the PHONY Climate Change bullchit, that is being used to GET ALL OUT THEIR CARS & into communist mass transit/driverless rideshare cars ONLY. Make no mistake about this people, each cities local government level pigs are having regular meetings now about this sinister plan…GET SMART ON AGENDA 21/2030.
Yes, I can think of a great way to get from Hillside Ave all the way up Queens Blvd., its called the E/F express which runs 24/7! No one in their right mind would be riding from Hillside Ave in Jamaica all the way up Queens Blvd into Manhattan, unless it was a beautiful day and the person was doing it as a leisurely pursuit, and like many people on here have expressed, the very tiny percentage of people who WOULD actually do that, do not warrant an entire lane in each direction, disrupting traffic patterns for thousands each day, absolute nonsense.
So we can remove recreational and children/teens, but what about the people who use bikes for work? People here talk about cyclists as recreational but most bikes at night are delivery guys. If people really don’t like them, don’t order take out. As for them breaking the laws, I agree. They are dangerous to everyone.
I’ve seen a lot of comments about Queens Blvd being a bad road for bikes. Please let me know another way to get from QB and Hillside to the QB bridge. Cyclists don’t like the Boulevard of Death any better than do motorists and pedestrians. Let’s remember the bikes lanes are part of an overall design to reduce pedestrian and car crashes. Can we agree that QB is a failed design?
I am for bike lanes in the proper areas, and Queens Blvd. is the worst area for a bike lane. How can you place an open bike lane on a notoriously dangerous high-speed boulevard? What a stupid idea by our community leaders is all I have to say. Bikes are partially recreation and can only be used during good weather. Now a car lane has to be removed for a few bike riders and delivery people who don’t respect any laws anyway? Good going idiots.
Amen!
ONE HUNRED MILLION DOLLARS for this debacle!
A few hundred plastic cones, a few thousand gallons of paint, a few signs, a couple of curb cuts and a half dozen traffic signals.
Just make the placate the lunatic car haters at Transportation Alternatives (the anti-car fundamentalist loons).
Are you under the impression that what you’re seeing is 100 million? I drive a car, take the subway and ride a bike. Does using one mean one has to hate the other ones. QB is a disaster and an eyesore. Doesn’t the Boulevard of Death need a major overhaul? I’m glad the money is being spent here and not in some other location.
No one is talking about the REAL HEALTH problem this poses…I never had asthma until recently. When I thought about it…I live in Big Six Towers…I am surrounded by: Air Transportation pollution, Auto Emissions from the BQE Congestion, Overall Poor Air Quality in our neighborhood and NOW NOXIOUS fumes from Backed up traffic on Queens Blvd starting as early as 3pm! This was not a well thought out plan at all! How this is a ‘green’ initiative I’ll NEVER understand given you’ve just created more idle cars who are spewing out noxious fumes over a much more extended time. Are there extra monies set aside for the higher rates of respiratory illnesses? There was a study conducted which stated residents of Queens are at higher risk of dying in an emergency because of the lack of hospitals, with this new wave of unnecessary traffic to appease bike riders (haven’t seen any yet), what explanation is there for placing leisure over safety? Common Sense has clearly left the building.
Wait, doesn’t mass transit and bikes reduce bad air? I know riding a bike is seen as a leisure activity by many, but what about commuters? Is commuting a leisure activity? What about the fast food delivery guys? Would we prefer that they get rid of their bikes and deliver food by car — which I’m sure they would leaving idling as they blocked the street. Somehow this discussion seems to be focused on casual use of bikes when commuters and delivery guys are by volume the main people out there — especially at night. And what obligation do we have for children riding bikes? That’s leisure, but I think we can all agree that safety for our kids is an important factor.
But the assumption that we are in a zero sum game is one I don’t agree with. A properly designed street makes everyone safer and more efficient. I both drive and ride in Queens. I don’t want to short change either of the ways I get around.
With regard to commuters, we are a city, a major metropolitan area, a very congested and populated metropolitan area who has for a very long time assimilated to motor vehicle/public transportation as a means of ‘commuting’ another way to spin this argument if we’re going to get passionate would be to then suggest perhaps we ought to also consider horse and buggy…it’s a bad idea, the fumes from the exhaust are bad for bike riders too but in the borough of Queens in particular, in the event of an emergency during rush hour I’d say a heart attack victim would have ZERO chance of surviving…they will not make it to the hospital in time.
Are you saying that an ambulance would be blocked by cyclists? The problem with Queens is that it’s undeserved by hospitals. As for our area assimilating vehicle traffic. I think it would be fairer to say that it has been overwhelmed. The roads we have were never envisioned for the volume and speeds we are expected of them today. I’m not sure why the assumption is that in order for someone to win the other side must loose. I believe that a road system that reflects modern conditions would be better for everyone. I think it’s sad that my kids don’t have a bike at our home. I keep it at their grandparents’ home because it’s too dangerous here. Forget QB, it’s too dangerous on our side streets.
The roads are congested because lanes have been taken out of commission. The hospital in our area is Elmhurst, but the traffic created by redesign all around it is a menace to public safety indeed.
Do have more lanes mean better traffic patterns? It may not seem true, but reducing a lane can make traffic better. When there are more lanes there are more cutting between lanes. This erratic behavior can be a source of congestion. If we added a lane would QB be better?
We are talking about the Boulevard of Death. If people here don’t like the proposed design, what is a better alternative?
Ben, this discussion is about the Queens Blvd. bike lanes and while I do agree that on certain streets throughout the city, any given neighborhood could possibly benefit from a bike lane, one on Queens Blvd. is just not a smart idea. You mention in your post “And what obligation do we have for children riding bikes? That’s leisure, but I think we can all agree that safety for our kids is an important factor.” I am sorry, but even with the bike lanes in place, Queens Blvd is NOT a roadway that children should be riding on, PERIOD. The lanes are making traffic worse. If you are looking for a neighborhood where your children can ride around block after block and not be worried, you honestly need to move to a more suburban area of eastern Queens or even LI.
Anthony,
You’re right that kids should not be on QB. My kids their bikes in PA at my mother’s home and they can only ride down there. I was thinking more of residential streets when I was thinking about kids. There are nice parks one can spend many hours riding around, but no one can get there.
I find it interesting we focus on leisure riding. Most cyclists are delivery guys, then followed by commuters and then followed by leisure types. We don’t stop people from using cars for non essential trips or for not car pooling. If we want to outlaw bikes from the roads — as we have horses — that’s logical. But if bikes are going to be legal, then the roads should be somewhat safe.
Personally, I don’t agree with the current bike lanes. I would have put dual direction bike lanes on just one side. The pedestrian lane makes no sense to me. But compared to riding in the service lanes, it’s much safer. As for a kid riding on it, the part that’s done would be safe enough for a teen.
The problem is this….. We live in NYC NOT Florida or California which can benefit from year round bike use. To remove a entire car lane from QB service road so bikes have a lane for half a year use is ludicrous. Those bike lanes will go unplowed in bad weather and those few die hard will be back in traffic riding.
To sum up this whole vision zero program is you may think you’re slowing people down but what you’re are doing is frustrating people especially when it takes 20 minutes to go a mile. What is happening is motorist are responding with aggression and it shows on the roads.
Vision Zero is an idea that started in Sweden. It’s not a new idea and it isn’t about bikes. The basic concept is that good design makes everyone safe. I personally would love to see a separate bike path — or greenway — that would allow commuters to safely get to work. But California and Florida have lots of room for such things — easy parking, wide lanes, and lots of empty spaces. How can we do that here? Of course, that doesn’t solve the issue of delivery guys. They have to be on the same streets because they have to go where the customers are. They are out there all year too. I guess we could require them to use cars. Wouldn’t that be great! Can you imagine the chaos created by delivery cars blocking streets as the run in an order? Before we write off bikes, let’s see if the alternative is going to be more to our liking.
Ben you’re obviously a nice guy, but Vision Zero as practiced here is an elitist move to deny average folks the right to own cars–hence the effort to eliminate parking. I think its all about Manhattanite drivers, of which there are plenty, wanting the rest of us off the road. This all started with Bloomberg. He also wanted residential parking permits.
Vision Zero was invented in Sweden. Bloomberg didn’t adopt it. I own a car and I want to keep using it. But QB is an eight lane highway with a supposed speed limit of 25 mph going through residential neighborhoods. Vision Zero, isn’t about removing cars but about designing streets such that zero people die. Personally, it would be great if there was another way to get across Queens using a bike, but the LIE and LIRR really limit the possibilities.
I agree, I’ve seen bikers with the front light, and no rear light. And most of them are wearing dark clothing.
A lot of these guys that have not lights and wear dark clothing are delivery guys for fast takeout places. They have to ride old bikes because any decent bike would be stolen. I would assume the dark clothing is to hide dirt, but I don’t know. Ironically, some of the commenters on this discussion are creating the problems they hate by ordering delivery service. I would estimate that at least half of the people riding bikes at night are delivery services.
I am 100% for a bike lane on Queens Blvd. Anything that will slow cars down. And if people cannot park in Sunnyside, they can leave their car somewhere else and walk or bike there. Sunnyside is filled with happy drivers who double-park just to go get gum at the convenience store to which they could have walked.
As for bikes, I am for zero tolerance, they need to give way and stop at red lights and respect all rules. This needs to be harshly enforced. If there are too many casualties, we will habe to consider helmets and insurance.
Disclosure: I drive, I bike, but 90% of the time I walk, take the subway or a cab.
It’s a mystery that bike helmets are not required. They make a huge difference in surviving an accident. Also, enforce lights for anyone riding at night.
My main problem with bikers it the fact that are smug.
But this crap ain’t going away. Bike lanes on the LIE are probably in our future.
Maria,
I’ve seen all sorts of comments supporting your view and I’m curious as to how you’ve come to this conclusion. I’ve seen postings about going to “war,” that life has been ruined, and that bikers should go back to where they came from — as if they are joy riding on Queens Blvd and don’t really live in our community. Those are pretty strong feelings.
I see lots of things I don’t like from both bikes and cars. Do you think they become less smug when they are driving? Or do you believe a driver would become smug if he or she got on a bike? I do both. Would I be half smug? I bring this up because it’s difficult to have a conversation when the assumption is that the other point of view is not worth listening to.
Does anyone on the list think that our beloved “Avenue of Death” is actually a good street for anyone? Isn’t that real problem?
I both ride a bike and drive on Queens Blvd. Being a jerk is not vehicle specific. Cyclists probably break more road rules — some of which don’t make sense for bikes — and drivers are certainly more deadly when they do break a rule.
But the real problem isn’t us, it’s the idea that a road with more lanes than I-95 can be compatible with little kids crossing on their ways to school. We should not be pointing the finger at each other, but figure out how to get around Queens safely and efficiently.
The kids have been asking for an overpass at I.S. 5, but for the most part there isn’t a whole lot of crossing going on along the Blvd. where the lanes are.
In most parts of Europe, bike lanes are actually between the sidewalk and PARKED cars. Makes tons more sense as it is a lot less hazardous to both bikers and drivers.
i live on 65th and queens blvd and the congestion this bike lane has caused is ridiculous. I have lived in Woodside for over 25 years and have never seem this street so congested at all times of the day. Even worse during th 5-7pm rush hour. Whoever thought this would be a good idea probably doesn’t live in the neighborhood and doesn’t realize that this has caused more harm than good. Sounded good on paper but poorly executed. Kudos non woodsiders making decisions for our neighborhood.
I was walking on queens boulevard today and saw not one but two people who collect bottles in the bike lanes with their shopping carts —
As a car owner who wants easy parking and fewer delays, a bike owner who wants to ride without fear of getting hit by an inattentive driver, and a pedestrian who wants to walk without fear of being hit by inattentive cyclists or drivers, I support the bike lanes. In the big picture where we all have to share space, these lanes improve safety and speed or travel for everyone. When motorists speed or fail to signal, or drive drunk, no one proposes a ban on cars and car lanes. And when we encounter jaywalking pedestrians, we don’t say “tear up the sidewalks.” Of course there are badly-behaving cyclists, and there are ways to address that problem. Each cyclist = one less car on the road, less dependence on foreign oil, fewer car emissions contributing to global warming, and more physical activity to combat obesity and diabetes. It’s patriotic and good for America. Give it a try!
Bike riding is great, but too dangerous and stressful in NYC. When greater safety measures are created, it would be worth a try.
“Each cyclist = one less car on the road…”
Not necessarily true. The people riding bikes are mainly eschewing public transportation, not their cars. I doubt if even a handful of bikers own cars.
What about the horrible crash that happened last night at 43rd and Skillman? I was hoping the Sunnyside Post would talk about it. Any deaths?
The traffic light was not working, two cars got mangled.
This place needs more speed bumps and cameras and cops.
Was the driver drunk? He seemed to be speeding a bit.
very sad no reports anywhere on this accident —
It is also not clear to me: was the light not working when the crash happened or did the cars crash into the light and break it?
43rd street is speed paradise. Speed bumps are greatly needed. But the intersection is even worse and desperately needs to be modified. there is too much foot traffic and vehicles not respecting the right of way.
Similar to this rendering is whats needed.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/publications/sidewalks/figure-4-48.jpg
43rd street is speed paradise. Speed bumps are greatly needed. But the intersection is even worse and desperately needs to be modified. there is too much foot traffic and vehicles not respecting the right of way.
Similar to this rendering
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/publications/sidewalks/figure-4-48.jpg
And the Brooklyn Bridge was built for horses. It ain’t the 50’s anymore. More and more building is happening and the subway is a mess. If people want to bike the city should support that.
Really? We should do bike welfare. Create infrastructure for a small crowd that doesn’t pay for it. Get outta here!
No fatalities but clearly speeding was involved.
just wait till when it snows who is going to clean the bike lanes JVB I doubt that very much or DSNY !
Everyone is forgetting who is responsible. The deluded Mayor and his Vision Zero. There will never be zero because of human behavior. The new designed had removed Parking spaces by around 63 st/qns Blvd and there is a dangerous exit into the service lanes at 58. Only a mayor who is trying to make his name can allow this disgust to be built.
Vision Zero isn’t the Mayor’s creation. It’s an idea from Scandinavia that basically says that safety is usually a design issue. Design correctly, and drivers have good visibility and pedestrians and cyclists are separated. I was in Stockholm and everything worked smoothly. Whether it can work or work as well with our crowded streets and limited resources, is another issue.
True it is an idea the Mayor lifted from Scandinavia, a place where cars were rare until recently, and compared to us in America, they still are.
Interesting point. I was wondering if it was true because it does seem less crowded there. In fact, it’s the opposite. Europe has more cars per person than the US — and I would assume NYC is much lower.
Why “lifted”? You make it sound seedy. If the ideas are good, good for him. If the ideas are bad, then find better ones!
I think the reason that Europe feels less crowded with cars is because of good mass transit and they do things we would not do, such as congestion pricing for the inner cities.
I have watched bike riders blatantly disregard the traffic lights they act a though they are king of the roads. I am curious why the Blvd was not milled and repaved before the bicycle lanes were surfaced. The bike lanes between 52nd Street and 58th Street are beginning to crack and around certain manhole covers are falling apart. There is the beginning of valleys in the bike lanes. When if ever we begin to get freeze thaw cycles the bike lanes will be pot hole city. I am curious if and thought was given to snow removal in heavy and accumulating snow there will be no place to push the snow to it will reduce the one lane maybe three quarters of a lane. I am curious why 56th Street is no longer viable to access the east bound local lanes it no longer allows people to go south on 58th Street to head for the LIE. The slip lane just east of 58th Street is a design nightmare you literally make a right hand turn to access the local lane from the express lanes. Lastly I have no idea why a light was installed at the entrance of the road leading to the BQE at rush hour traffic backs up and into 65th Place a Stop Sign would have sufficed since there is no other traffic entering the road way from Queens Blvd
Yes!!! Thank you! That light on 65th Place is only making an already BAD situation WORSE!
I was just thinking about snow removal, not to mention that there were a bunch of potholes already and the street will have to be torn up again soon and all that money will have gone waste.
This isnt china (yet)we dont need bike lanes theres not many bikes i have to agree with king henrik. Not enough bikes that they should have gone to such expense, the money wasnt spent wisely
Wow i just read the article about the driver that got killed on 48st and laurel hill. Like i said in my previous post, laurel hill and 48 to 43st, very dangerous, you need a camera there now.
1st-what idiot wasted all that money on a bike lane. If you stand there for a while (which you will if your driving at 5pm)you will notice not many bikes use it. You can stand there for hours and not see a bike
2nd-when your only allowed to drive 20 or 25mph, some of these bikes fly by while i have to worry about a summons from some camera
3rd-when im sitting in ridiculously slow traffic, trying to get to the bqe, i might see 1, maybe 2 bikes, why did they need a bike lane, if they wanted to slow Q.B. down, what is going to be needed the way buildings are going up, is parking. They could have put parking at certain hours (instead of a bike lane thats hardly used) like they did in rego park. I feel there was money left in the budget for road work and they had to use it. Also, now you have vehicle’s flying down laurel hill blvd like crazy. They put a cop there with a radar gun, poor guy has to watch hed dont get run over,they got him standing out in the street, not in his cruiser. Then after 48st once the motorist is past the cop they do 75mph by48th to 43rd. PUT A SPEEDING CAMERA ON LAUREL HILL AND 47ST, THE CITY WILL MAKE $50,000 A DAY EASILY
Speeding cameras are controlled by the State. NYC cannot install one without the State government.
As for no one on the bike lane. I can see your point. But the bike path is only a fraction of QB. The lanes are better than having bikes in QB traffic, but the lane ends well before the bridge — the main destination for most riders on QB. While the lanes do make riding safer, I still won’t want my son riding to his high school in Astoria.
“But the bike path is only a fraction of QB. The lanes are better than having bikes in QB traffic, but the lane ends well before the bridge — the main destination for most riders on QB.”
On the rare occasion that I ride across the QB bridge I notice more peds than cyclists. More than 7 miles is too much for most bike commuters, not physically but practically. Folks from here are not riding to the QB bridge. That is what is so frustrating, it is just a traffic calming measure emplaced where traffic really needs to move.
Queens Boulevard is an abomination. Either make it a public park and remove the car lanes or remove the buildings and sidewalks and make it a highway.
For bikers, there should be obstacles on lanes to slow them down, such as barriers forcing to put a foot on the ground to cross.
I don’t understand the obstacle part. So if the light is green, the rider would still have to stop? Bikes don’t have their own lane, so what what you put to stop bikes will be hit by cars too and by pedestrians ;pushing baby carriages, etc. But I can agree on QB being a total mess.
Mandate that bicyclists pay to register their vehicles, carry insurance and display a recordable plate number so that they can be tagged at traffic cameras and tracked when and if they are ever issued a ticket. Once they are held accountable for their actions on the roadways I’ll listen to them bitch. Until then, they should all SHUT UP!
I can see the lines at the DMV as parents get tags for their kids’ Christmas present bikes. But your main point that people should be accountable is a good one. Both for cars double/triple parking and in my neighborhood, doing 180s in intersections and for cyclist riding the wrong way at night with no lights. The police do ticket cyclists, BTW, and the points go on the rider’s driver’s license.
The main point is right. Technically, cyclists should be regulated as part of the transportation tapestry. That is where all this will eventually lead. Insurance makes sense and charging them for road upkeep.
Bikes do not belong on city streets. If they do USE the streets, then they must wear safety equipment, have insurance and be registered. If you have driven your car on QB (between 3&4pm)between 58st going east to 65th st you will probably have to wait for at least lights. The traffic does not move either on QB or 65 place going south. More importantly, there is a fire house on the QB service rd just before 65 place. I shudder to think what will happen if the truck is called out – will not be able to leave the fire house. Our “bright lites” in city planning missed this. I also suggest that those business that have been adversely affected should join forces, seek legal counsel and SUE!
if you read my comments earlier up I already stated about insurance, etc.
The Fire Dept. controls the Red Light outside the Fire House.
I’m not sure cars belong on city streets either. We may simply have too many people living in too tight an area for any form of personal transportation to work. If we just had a clean and workable mass transit system, we would not have these problems.
I can agree that anyone on the streets should meet certain standards. Insurance is an interesting idea. We have it as drivers because of the damage we might do to others. Cyclists are almost always on the short end of the stick when it comes to a crash.
If people really want to take bikes off the roads, stop ordering take out or demand that the food be delivered by car. If we as a community believe bikes should be allowed on the road, then some level of safety should be there. If bikes are removed, as were horses, then don’t expect the services that delivery guys and messengers provide.
Local shops like pedestrians and even bike traffic because people make for customers. QB is pretty much a strip mall with all the accompanying charm. I think shop owners would benefit from being on a street people actually want to be on.
How about screw the whole thing and just build a light rail line along all queens blvd.
I am so glad to see the backlash against this political stunt by de Blasio. How long have the new bike lanes been there? A couple of months? Let the chaos begin! I was dead set against these from when I first read about them and anyone with common sense would agree. I live on Queens Blvd in Forest Hills and I can tell first hand that mostly all of the parking lanes that would be eliminated by this plan are taken up most hours of the day. Queens Blvd., especially in the FH/RP areas has countless medical and dental offices and quite a lot of stores too. People drive to appointments in those offices and need the parking that is currently there. Queens is not Manhattan. What might make sense there does not necessarily work here. Look around areas like FH/RP, people are constantly in and out of their cars, going to work, doing errands in other parts of the borough or on LI and it is just not feasible to take public transit everywhere or to bicycle everywhere. FH is a neighborhood of working families who need to buy larger loads of groceries, take kids to practices or appointments and we just don’t have the luxury or time to say “I think I’ll bike there, pick up 10 bags of groceries and have my 3 year old bike to the dentist while he’s at it.” Another downside of the removal of a parking lane on each side of the Blvd is the revenue for the city. At least now, the city makes money on all of the meters and the countless meter maids patrolling that area writing tickets all day long. The bike lanes are a drain on the system only designed to try and make de Blas look like he accomplished something. He doesn’t live along QB and see just how bad the parking and overall congestion are. Like another poster stated to the lone bike lane lover on here, go to a more hip area where cycling as transit is more practical. Although Queens is part of NYC, many neighborhoods such as FH are more of a cross between LI suburbia and NYC so many still rely on cars and need as much parking as possible. Maybe we should create a bike lane on Union Tpke too so people from Fresh Meadows can give up their cars also and bike to work!! The insanity has to end somewhere! I feel bad for residents of Sunnyside. I don’t know what kind of turnout there was at the community board meetings, but I hope that the city is learning from this fiasco and that there is still time before they totally destroy other functioning neighborhoods further down Queens Blvd. I realize that at first, yes, it seems like the nice and politically expedient thing to do to create these bike lanes, but in actuality, it is a mess. Also, there are still plenty of cyclists not even using those lanes and still darting in and out of traffic as always. Big failure! I am sorry that this woman from Sunnyside had her son killed on a bike back in 2008 and she led the fight for the bike lanes, but you know what? It is not always the drivers fault! It is far too easy to blame the driver but I see plenty of cyclists doing VERY risky things, they scare me sometimes even while walking! Maybe her son was partially at fault as well, we weren’t there. But let’s face it, nobody would actually say that, of course it must have been the drivers fault! He had the car! Let’s stop trying to be so politically correct and appease everybody all the time. The fact is that Queens Blvd is a wide thoroughfare, it has a lot of traffic, and just by sheer numbers, there will be more incidents. This appeasement reminds me of the ridiculous Civic Virtue statue take away. A woman’s group didn’t like it, wham bam, iconic statue gone, empty pathetic space left to sit while a beautiful piece of art sits in Greenwood Cem. Can we get the bike lines tossed as easily??
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
QUEENS BLVD WAS BUILT FOR CARS.
There are MANY more “bike friendly” routes east and west.
There aren’t many more direct routes east and west, though. People on bikes, like people on cars, want to get where they’re going. Streets are open to all people. We should work to balance getting people where they’re going quickly AND safely.
This is hooey! Indulging cyclists who feel like they may want to recreationally ride through the streets of the City of New York shouldn’t get what they want. Commuter cyclists need flexible, commonsense infrastructure that lets them use the road efficiently. Those cyclists are not riding so many miles that they need their own highway space from cars. Local streets already serve them fine, I should know. I’ve been cycling from Woodside to lower Manhattan for many years now. I hate bike lanes–they get in the way of people who know what they’re doing!
It was built for cars. Stop people from crossing. Perhaps it needs to be built like the LIE. But it cannot and it won’t. But can you name the bike friendly routes that parallel QB? It’s possible to parallel Northern, but QB is so easy to find an alternative route for.
The irony of all the car drivers whining about the standards of cycling. I drive extensively, and have also done so in other countries and many other parts of the US, and the standard of driving, obedience of traffic laws and consideration of other drivers, never mind cyclists, is just appalling in New York City. How many of you whining about cyclists going through red lights obey the 25mph speed limit or use turn signals or allow pedestrians to cross when they’ve the right of way (e.g. junction of Woodside and 30th Aves) or cut people off or disobey turn markings in lanes or tailgate or speed up to beat red lights? Cyclists and bike lanes are pretty far down the list of issues in NYC and QB traffic.
Woodside and 39 ave..
I pretty much obey traffic laws. I like the lower speed limit, it makes everything calmer. Walkers and bikers are so bad when it comes to interacting with cars, I’m scared. Who wants to hurt anyone? Not me. Everyone could do a lot more to be considerate of others in public places, including roads.
I agree. I do respect pedestrians, turning lanes, and traffic speed. When bikers stop thinking they do not have to follow vehicular laws I will be more advocating for them to share the road.
JM: I agree with your observation that people living elsewhere are better drivers and cyclists. But I disagree that cyclists and bike lanes are a low priority. Not that I think bike lanes should be given special attention; rather, I think our roads need to be redesigned so that everything functions together. People can cross the street without fear, cyclists can be out of traffic, cars can see what they need to see, and parking can be make plentiful enough that drivers don’t have to perform death-defying actions to zip into a free space.
We are living in an environment that turns us all against one another.
The problem JM is that you are probably an out of towner who doesn’t fully appreciate that we do things a little differently in NYC. Ya gotta toughen up yer stones a bit. Drivers in NYC and elsewhere do break rules, but they have to. They are the most regulated form of transportation and not everything can be accomplished in the box given, particularly in NYC. I think city drivers do this with elegance and ingenuity that typically scares the uninitiated. Just gaze with awe, don’t be jealous.
The problem with cyclists is that they are completely unregulated and do not have an established protocol for interacting with one another or pedestrians. Many of the Brooklyn cyclists are the worst! They come from places where there are no pedestrians–unlike NYC–and they don’t know how to interact with them. As things were, when cyclist share the road, they ride in a more car-like fashion adopting many automobile protocols, which keeps the peds safe and the cyclists safe from each other.
What’s the name of this book you wrote??
I also live in FH. I’m not sure if I have common sense, but I certainly don’t think what we have now — pre- de-Blasio — is anything I would like to see continue. Just look at the madness at Austin St. Look at all the cars parked in the bus stops or blocking traffic as they wait for a car to leave a parking space or they pick up a friend. And no one ever seems to drive around the block when a three pointed turn at the expense of both lanes of traffic can save them a few minutes. Every time I drive, ride or walk past 71st and Austin, I feel I’m taking my life into someone’s hands. Is this what we want? Let’s not loose sight of the fact that what we have now isn’t worth defending. If bike lanes can be in the middle of parks and lesser used roads, that great. I doubt cyclist enjoy Austin st any more than drivers do.
I agree that we cannot “appease” everyone. But who thinks QB, Austin, or basically any road in Queens actually appeases them? I see no winners here.
Silly planning, people who planned and implemented this do not live here. I have no idea whose votes they were after when doing this? Bikers?
The problem lies in that Queens Boulevard was named the boulevard of death and now it has bike lanes. But, the real problem with bike lanes and cyclists, I would include motorcyclists in this also, is the cyclists do often disregard vehicular laws. How many time as a pedestrian I witnessed Bikes blowing through red lights and stop signs I cannot count….and this happens in all 5 boros. How about the motorcyclist driving down the center line in traffic? How about the cars doing u-turns in intersections or pulling in front of a long line in the turning lane? The problem for everyone is the entitlement each person feels, that their own needs are more important than anyone else’s. Looking at it objectively, Queens Bloulevard is a main, very busy artery through queens and it should not have bike lanes. Put bike lanes on skillman or 43rd or down 37th ave parallel with northern blvd. Do not think politicians thought this through, like everything else……
Queens Blvd shouldn’t have bikes, kids, mothers with baby strollers, old people with walkers, shoppers, etc. But it does. Skillman Ave doesn’t parallel QB for more than a mile. If one is starting out at Hillside Ave, then what?
The “boulevard of death” was a name invented by the newspapers, we shouldn’t repeat their nonsense.
I, like many New Yorkers do not own a car. I use my bike to get everywhere, and the bikelane on Queens Boulevard has improved my life tremendously—I can safely get from point A to point B now without fearing for my life or having to come up with a crazy zick zack of detours to avoids Queens Boulevard. I can’t wait for the whole length of it to be finished. Thank you Jimmy Van Bramer, CB2, and DOT for making that possible—after a lengthy and in-depth community consultation process.
I see A LOT of bicyclists on the bikelane. DOT bike counts confirm that–it is just not true what several commenters above suggest. The redesign of this stretch of Queens Boulevard is a gamechanger for the entire city, and first step toward making this a livable street, turning around the Armageddon it has been for too long.
Maybe we bicyclists just appear to be so few because we are so much smaller than a huge SUV (with a carbon footprint of zero)? Maybe because we are so small (and vulnerable) car drivers don’t realize how many individuals are commuting on bikes along Queens Boulevard, thereby REDUCING traffic exactly because we are NOT in a car?
Personally, I have not witnessed bicyclists violating the right of way of pedestrians—of course that against the spirit of the whole project and cannot happen. After all, the whole idea is that bikelanes are also good for pedestrians, because they shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians. Like car drivers and pedestrians, there are bicyclists who are good citizen and bicyclist who are bad citizen. We are not better nor worse than anyone else. This is clearly an enforcement issue.
But the complaint about congestion???—Again, I think this might be a matter of subjective experience rather than objective fact. Traffic in NYC in general, and on QBL in particular, has been a mess long before the bikelane. There are just too many cars, and car drivers should actually really thank those of us who ride bikes, take public transportation, and walk, rather than contribute to the mess. You should really be angry that there are just too many cars in the city!
Psychologically, I can understand (but certainly not accept) this anger. Suddenly, because of the redesign, car drivers need to share the road that they erroneously assumed was theirs alone to use. With the redesign, drivers actually need to pay attention to pedestrians and bicyclists– as the law requires–rather than speeding along Queens Boulevard as if it were a highway with no humans around. But it is not a highway, as simple as that. And that being the case, what car drivers are really complaining about is losing the privilege of violating the rights of other traffic participants by driving at a speed that is appropriate for a street used by many others. After all, as pedestrians and bicyclists, we are traffic, too. We have as much right to use Queens Blvd and to be safe doing so as any car driver. So, thank you for sharing the road with us carless humans!
Why don’t you get on your tricycle and pedal back to Williamsburg.
You sound like a conceited little jerk.
well if you feel this way they ought to make a law anyone riding a bicycle on queens boulevard ought to wear a helmet, register their bike with the motor vehicles and have a license plate just like cars —
and one more item — INSURANCE –
A bike is not a “motor” vehicle.
Last I checked, it can still hurt people. So if you hit me with your bike and break my bone, why should my insurance (or if I don’t have insurance) pay for it?
The human being is both the driver and the “motor.” It does not move by itself.
That’s true. But that’s an old fashioned way of thinking. Probably created when people rode a lot slower than in the present day. If bicyclists break the law or make an honest mistake they can hurt or in some cases kill someone, not just themselves. I drive and ride, believe me, I see people riding, driving and walking that do risky moves that can result in an accident. Everyone has to obey laws, it would be nice if there was enough enforcement, but it appears that’s expecting to much out of our administration.
Rarely do bicyclists observe the traffic lights, the electric delivery bicycles are the worst. Most of them pay no attention to things like bike lanes and the operators continually try to pass motor vehicle drivers on the right. This caused many accidents and as the scumbags don’t have “Insurance” the automobile owner usually has to pay to get their vehicle repaired.
Bicyclists should be required to have “Liability Insurance”, if they want to share the road. The whole “Bike Lane Issue” is one of the “Nanny State” screwing the working person.
You are absolutely right. The issues raised in the article are enforcement and education issues. Except for one small block, no car lanes were reduced, so the congestion arguments are garbage. More and more people are bringing their cars in to growing neighborhoods. These same people complaining about bikes voted down the zoning changes that would have reduced parking minimums and made it so the new people coming in would be less likely to bring cars with them. But, they can’t figure out the connection so they blame bikes that barely take up any room. Every cyclist should yield to a pedestrian, light or no light, and that should be enforced, but bikes have been running through there for years so its not like its a unique problem. The lane at least gets them out of traffic, an you know where to look for them. I bet you half those people almost hit didn’t even look for the bikes. Anyway, all the whining and moaning on this page is a bunch of self-entitled motorists who don’t care about people other than themselves. We are experiencing growing pains. Roads get changed all the time, deal with it.
Bikers are bringing a terrible, terrible attitude to this discussion. You come with a big chip on your shoulder and a mouth full of contempt. This is not a good PR move nor is it a good negotiating stance. Get yourself better representation because you are setting yourselves up for decades of war with everyone around you. I was for bikes at first. But your tone and the actions of many, many of you detract mightily from what is basically a good move for all of humanity. You are your own worst enemies. You have made yourselves heartily dislikable.
The congestion arguments are not garbage. If you are eliminating an entire parking lane, that means more and more people circling the same few blocks looking for spots, increasing traffic and quite honestly, becoming frustrated and going to doctors/dentists, stores in other neighborhoods where they can pull up to a meter, pay, get what they need and move on. Local businesses will definitely hurt from this and again, there are not even many people using the lanes. At least a bus lane, while still a hassle, would be more practical for Queens Blvd with the many express buses to and from Manhattan because it would benefit a far greater number of people than this bike lane. QB is an extremely wide road, 16 lanes at one point in FH, it really was never designed as a road to leisurely ride a bike that’s why the majority of bike riders you will see there are delivery people frantically cutting in and out and trust me, they will do whatever they need to and take whatever short cuts they can to save time, which does not necessarily mean using the bike lane. Look at the photos posted on this site where the lanes have been put in, those stretches of QB in Sunnyside do not have anywhere near the amount of offices and small shops that you have further down in Forest Hills and Rego Park, I could not even imagine what destruction losing an entire parking lane would do to those areas. Stop this ridiculousness please.
You really are an insufferable, arrogant person.
Ride your bike, it is none of my business. But you have the unmitigated gall to expect the roads of this city to be redesigned and re-engineered for your convenience? Everyone else, drivers, walkers, crawlers etc. obey the rules of the road, which includes stopping and starting and traveling in orderly ways that other people can anticipate and adjust to. BIKERS DO WHATEVER THE HELL IS EASIEST FOR THEM because they are on a bike. They have much less control and accuracy than either walkers or drivers and they want everyone else to compensate for it.
NO! Change the way you ride to fit in to what everyone else is doing. We don’t need to change for you.
Do you know how many times cyclists don’t obey the lights? Do you know how many times I came close to being hit with my children by a cyclist who didn’t feel like stopping for a red light? I make it a point to teach my children and lead by example to never cross at a red light, always wait for the green light even if there are no cars coming, and wait till cars come to a full stop. Now I have added bikes to that. It is ridiculous that they fly right through the light with total disregard for pedestrians with the right of way. They act as if they are above the law. These bike lanes are horse sh9t. Enough catering to these people. If you actually obeyed the laws these lanes probably would not bother me as much. Most of you are a$$hles and don’t use them anyway.
I’d rather get hit by a bicyclist than a car. I see much more aggressive macho driving from car drivers, young men speeding carelessly, running red lights, and crashing. I’d take a self righteous bicyclist over a testosterone filled car driver any day of the week.
A car (or even a tank) that has come to a stop hits no one. A bike moving through a red light can hit someone.
I want to see the statistics on:
1) How much extra CO is being produced by the cars now idling at stopped traffic, thereby negating or reversing any potential environmental benefits of bikers
2) How many bikers are reformed car drivers that gave up their car (again, if not, negates the green benefit)
3) The increase in auto/auto accidents because of the new merge patterns with stop signs (very precarious).
Well said Angela.
Bicyclists do not pay attention to the red lights. Two bicyclists sped through a red light, not looking to see if any cars were coming, and were almost run over by a car.
Didn’t mean to dislike your comment. I support bicyclists and pedestrians. They don’t kill people. Cars do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/nyregion/woman-dies-after-being-struck-by-central-park-cyclist.html?_r=0
Damn Angela…… writing a book on here???
I live along the affected area. I am a cyclist and I notice the cyclists that go through the lanes–not many more than did before. Why? Because cyclists want to go from point A to B as directly as they can, with as few stops as they can, and the Blvd doesn’t do that. There is nothing to go to along that area of the Blvd and it is too busy with traffic, so cyclists will have to stop, which they don’t want to do. The Blvd is also like a highway, it takes a motorist quickly though indirectly close to where they want to be–the exact opposite of what a cyclist wants. Also you know that cycling is fair weather transportation. Cyclists are also deadbeats–they don’t contribute a cent to maintaining the roads they use. They don’t deserve to inconvenience the rest of us. Yes, I do own a car. I have a family and transporting them doesn’t happen on a bike.
They need to fix this. We need to close the borders to bikers until they figure out what is going on over there.
Vote Trump, November 9th 2016!
When will people learn that traffic problems are 99% enforcement-related?
The electronic speed monitors? People act like they’re trying to get the high score. Bikers? Couldn’t care less that a little old lady is trying to cross the street. Unloading trucks? That stuff is coming out no matter what it does to traffic. Parking? Space or no space, they’re going in.
Put a cop on the corner? Suddenly, everyone starts acting right.
I see. Use a cop to make a square peg fit into a round hole–very enlightening.
Oy I agree — what a mistake. Part of my commute from Sunnyside puts me on Queens Bvld to/from the BQE. I rarely see bikes and when I do, they are often in the street, not the bike lane. Its dangerous and very irritating. Those guys have got to be ticketed to stop that. And those “bike” stop lights are confusing. I drive it everyday, so I know what they are, but I see people confused by them all the time. The city got this one wrong.
Agreed the city got it wrong, probably cause as the poster at the top noted, they did it by computer–a one size fits all approach.
Wow- drive around the whole block. What an inconvenience. I’m sure everyone will get used to it.
Compelling.
I own a business at Skillman Ave on 49 street. I drive through queens Blvd everyday because I live in fresh meadows.
My problem and every driver problem is the bike green lane on queens Blvd they install. It’s horrible and it’s like hell to drive.
It’s so much congestion that it would be faster to get by walking. They made the stop Sighn instead keeping the yield sign. The stop sign makes it harder to get off the express lane or to get in from the local Lane because it’s hard to look at thesis rd mirror point very uncomfortable and very dangerous to see if any bike or a car is passing by. Please take those lanes away and instead make more lanes for the car to get faster from point A to point Z.
Also since I drive everyday I notice thousands of cars and very little few bikes on the lane pass by.. It’s does not make any sense… It just makes less drives to provide for businesses and for commute because they just want to get out from that congestion.
Thank you Mark. I had the same experience with the 58th st. exit city bound, you cannot see If anything Is coming, you cannot use your mirrors or turn a round and look to see If anyone Is coming. And yes I’ve seen bikers going the wrong way on these lanes and still go through red light, I use a dash cam and have a few showing just what I had said.
Does any one know how I can post these video’s on this web site. Again I have video of 4 bikers going through red light @ 52nd st. and Queens Blvd. towards the entrance of Calvary Cemetery entrance. They saw me coming and still did not stop.
if you belong to the sunnyside group on Facebook post everything there –
THANK YOU!!!!
I’m with you buddy, but you see, creating congestion is part of the plan. Didn’t ya know? We ordinary folks should be biking or using mass transit, whether they suit your needs or not. Only the growing number of Manhattanites with cars should be able to drive.
I was also at that meeting and it amounts to nothing. Jimmy Van Bramer stutters for any answers he can to entertain the situation at the time typical politician. The addition of the bike lanes on Greenpoint Ave are completely useless. Nothing but a waste of money and making getting deliveries at our business impossible.
I have requested parking meters from 39-36 street two years ago through Van Bramers office only to get a denied letter from him and the DOT. Than at this last meeting Van Bramers assistant is clueless on the letter but yet they signed it and mailed it to my business.
Anything that helps small business they ignore anything that helps them they accept.
The amount of bikes on greenpoint Ave is less than a dozen a day.
Just like all the slow zones and speed bumps that have been constructed but yet nine out of ten cars fly by at 40 mph minimum and no tickets or cameras or God forbid a cop to enforce it.
These monthly meetings are held to tell all these over paid politicians and cops what’s going wrong in the neighborhood, and we are paying them on top of doing there jobs for them.
Moronic.
DOT needs to start considering business first, not telling them they came up with some great alternative plan without asking anyone what they actually needed and why.
Stupid bicyclists, you make life miserable!!!!!
Go suck one and get some excersize you fat texting drivers.
Yeah, stupid drivers who actually stop at red lights instead of blowing through with utter disregard as to who or what might be in the way. Don’t they know that bikes are not only good for your health but instantly make you morally superior to everyone else?
I have also witnessed bike riders not even using the bike lane provided for them for their safety. They were riding on the right hand side all the way down Queens Boulevard. Wish I had taken a photo. This idea is not working!
There is a law on the books that states that if there are bike lanes available bikes that don’t use them are open to fines. Now I guess it has to be enforced….lots of luck. Again, people do what they want whether their riding, walking and driving… Be safe…. 🙂
The 108th is not interested in issuing bicycle related tickets.
Their cash cow is Qblvd between 48th st and Jackson Ave.
Bullshit tickets that genrate lots of $$$$$$
The 108th is not about crime prevention…its all about $$$$$$.
I live in the affected Woodside area and I am a cyclist who rides to work in Manhattan as often as I can, but the lanes are poorly designed and unnecessary. If they were going to put a bike lane, it should be a two-way on the cemetery side of the street, adjacent to the sidewalk–I usually hate those, but because so few people walk along that side there shouldn’t be any conflict. That’s all you need because most cycling in Queens is local, not going to Manhattan. The lanes on the left stink.
I’m a local resident & I use the new bike lanes all the time. For the first time since I moved here in 1980, I feel safe riding on Queens Blvd. Everyone who’s complaining about the bike lanes should take a minute to realize that their neighbors lives will be saved by these lanes. Share the roads.
Those kanes are horrible. They aredangerous and theyve caused traffic and removed what little larking there was.
I agree they are very dangerous. They also cause terrible back up now. Center express lanes are OK but they also cause congestion because you can’t go in and out as often as you could before. They already messed up the local service lanes years ago when they installed parking meters. If they cared about pedestrians or bikes so much, they should have made those bike lanes and actual segregated bike line, not this nonsense of taking up a whole lane, what a stupid design. The sidewalk is already wide enough, they think people will actually walk in this new “pedestrian” section in the middle of the road?
I am a local that lives in the area. It now takes 20 to 30 minutes to get from A to B….normally it would take 10 minutes. It is not only the bike lanes but 25 mph….cameras…..and no thru traffic lane feeding from the 59 th street bridge.I actually feel the congestion of cars and people after 35 years….sad for Woodside!!!!
That was the plan from City Hall Sonya. I’m sorry.
10 minutes, boo hoo
People are dying or getting seriously injured and you worry about a 10 minute difference in commute time?
Come to L.I.C,it’s even worse!bad planning
HAHAHAHAHAHA…….I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THIS WAS DESIGNED BY COMPUTER
no human has driven it and walked along queens blvd…or they would have fired themselves long before any construction happened
why do so many incompetent people get these jobs….
Sounds like a politician pushed this through.
actually yes for sure also the bike lanes are also to be used for pedestrian walking too — NOT TOO BRIGHT –
^^^ lol what?
they want people also to walk besides the bike lanes also that is what JVB never told people at the so called meetings — another underhanded thing that was being done –
Yes, that walking part is ridiculous! There aren’t enough people walking to use the sidewalks and why would someone walk in the middle of the street? Why would they be encouraged to do so? Really dumb.
Rikki, you should realize that no one listens to you anymore because you’ve made so made snide and unpleasant remarks. Occasionally being right is all you have left in this forum. Try, at least, to hold on to that.