44th Drive, an east-west route that links Court Square with Hunters Point, where protected bike lanes will be installed (Photo: Queens Post)
April 7, 2022 By Christian Murray
Three protected bicycle lanes are going to be installed in Long Island City this summer as the Department of Transportation aims to fill out the protected bike lane network in Hunters Point.
The new lanes will be installed on major Long Island City corridors, which will provide essential links between the Queensboro and the Pulaski bridges—as well as between Court Square and Hunters Point.
The DOT announced that it plans to install protected bike lanes on 44th Drive—between Vernon Boulevard and 23rd Street—an essential east-west link from Court Square toward the Long Island City waterfront.
DOT
The plan also involves a protected bike lane on 11th Street–between 44th Drive and Jackson Avenue—a key link between the two major bridges; as well as a protected bike lane on Jackson Avenue, between Vernon Boulevard and the Pulaski Bridge.
The changes could result in approximately 100 parking spaces being removed, according to the plan. The plan expressly says 66 will be removed, with 41 repurposed.
The DOT presented the design at Community Board 2’s Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday evening.
The plan comes in the wake of bike safety advocates and elected officials urging the DOT to complete a protected bike network in the Long Island City area.
The push for bike safety came to a head when Robert Spencer was killed in a crash in March 2019 while riding his bike at the intersection of Borden Avenue and 2nd Street in Hunters Point.
The DOT is currently looking into Borden Avenue between Center Boulevard and Jackson Avenue in terms of making safety upgrades.
The DOT said that the new protected bike lanes will be installed at a time when there has been a big uptick in bicycling. It said cyclists are crossing the Queensboro bridge 6,400 times per day, with more than 2,000 trips across the Pulaski bridge.
Community Board 2’s Transportation committee gave the plan the thumbs up Tuesday night, according to Laura Shepard a board member and a Queens organizer for Transportation Alternatives. She tweeted that the plan will be presented to the board for a full vote on Thursday, May 5.
12 Comments
There are too many cars in lic
This interferes severely with already horrible parking availability, and also promotes price gauging from garages, from someone with money. But no one will be pleased with an extra $800 a month for a garage.
Love to see it. Allowing cyclists to move safely between the QBB and Pulaski will have a huge, positive impact, while being minimally disruptive (if at all) to motor vehicle traffic.
Ha ha ha
If there is going to be more changes to the streets question who is going to pay for it? If we’re about to have a gas tax holiday that money that normally pays for changes in the streets will not be available. When are the bicyclists going to start paying for their special privileges?
Center blvd already has no parking with all of the construction, and food trucks leaving their cars of 2 blocks alone all year round. How about street cleaning ?
literally the only reason anyone lives in LIC these days is for the ease of commuting. we’ve got subways, ferrys, buses, etc. if you can afford to live here, and own a car, you can probably afford to pay for parking.
How about protected pedestrian lanes to protect us from maniac bicyclists? They don’t pay to ride the roads but are given more rights and freedoms (can park anywhere, not obey traffic laws and don’t get ticketed) than paying drivers do.
i’m all for greener forms of transportation…..but when are they finally going to give space back to pedestrians!?!? More bike lanes means i’m getting run over more often! When are they finally going to enforce traffic rules to idiot bike riders that never respect any?
Also, how about giving pedestrian actual room on the sidewalks!? Did you all notice how many of the busiest sidewalks have become obstacle courses?
I’m a bike rider too and I follow the same rules as cars have to.
If there’s going to be change, it must be fair for everyone, not just one group.
I think this is great for the neighborhood and will make cycling around here much safer. Hopefully they also have plans for improving the intersection at the foot of the Pulaski Bridge.
How many motor vehicles cross the Queensboro and Pulaski bridges per day?
Woke.