Transportation
BY ANGELA MATUA
The final map for the addition of 59
Citi Bike stations in Astoria was released
on July 28 and the stations will be up
and running in the next few months.
Astoria will be the second Queens
neighborhood to feature the bike share
program and after several community
workshops, the Department of Trans-portation
tweaked the station locations.
Overall, nine stations were moved after
feedback from Astoria residents.
The city has not released an exact date
for the implementation but has repeatedly
said they plan to roll out the program by the
end of the summer. A tweet by Citi Bike on
July 23 stated the expansion will be com-pleted
by late September or early October.
A spokesperson for the DOT said the
agency still plans on a late summer roll
out but may shift the timeline.
A recent analysis conducted by the
League of American Cyclists found that
New York City has more bike commut-ers
than any American city. In total, the
city boasts 1,133 miles of bike lanes,
up from 513 miles in 2006.
New bike lanes are constantly being
added and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said
34 AUGUST 2017 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
he wants to continue the trend, vowing
to add 50 miles of bike lanes every
year as part of his Vision Zero initiative.
The DOT released a report titled “Safer
Cycling: Bicycle Ridership and Safety
in New York City,” which found that the
number of cyclists killed or seriously
injured during the first year of launching
Citi Bike declined by 17 percent in the
bike share area.
The report also identified three Prior-ity
Bicycle Districts in Queens where
there was a high percentage of cyclists
killed in action and vowed to create or
enhance additional bike lanes for safety.
Roll
Through
Astoria
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
