THE PUSH FOR A
‘BIKE NEIGHBORHOOD’
BY MAX PARROTT
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
was several minutes late to
the presser to unveil his
comprehensive bike plan.
After he pedaled up to the gaggle of
reporters waiting at the corner of the Pulaski
Bridge and Jackson Avenue in Long
Island City, he said that his bike ride to the
event was “sweaty but revealing.” When he
biked to end of the protected lane on Skillman
Avenue, he shot out into the middle
of bumper-to-bumper car traffic and felt
unsafe. This is the exact problem he set
out that morning to address.
“We need protected bike lane networks
throughout every neighborhood
across all five boroughs, and today, I’m
calling on the Department of Transportation
to start in Long Island City,” said
Van Bramer in his speech.
Van Bramer gathered members of
Transportation Alternatives and Bike New
York on July 30 to call on the Department
of Transportation to implement a five-mile
protected bike lane network that would
span Long Island City.
The councilman revealed the proposal
shortly after the 18th bicyclist death in
the city as well as Mayor de Blasio’s
promise to ramp up the city’s bike infrastructure
with a $58 million plan, dubbed
the “Green Wave,” which would commit
to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes
across the five boroughs each year.
The councilman and the bike advocates
explained that their idea for a neighborhood
plan was meant to advise the DOT to start
taking a neighborhood-by-neighborhood
approach to building bike lanes in a connected
pattern, rather than a piecemeal
approach of building small stretches of bike
lanes scattered in different neighborhoods.
Juan Restrepo, the Queens Organizer
for Transportation Alternatives, explained
that they thought Long Island City is
the best place to begin this approach
in Queens because it’s a hub for bike
commuters on their way to Manhattan in
addition to its cultural offerings.
“This vision will create a #BikeNeighborhood
by connecting the Queensboro and
Pulaski Bridges, homes, schools, businesses,
cultural institutions, parks, waterfront
and more. Protected bike lanes help
children, parents, seniors access and enjoy
the benefits of cycling,” said Laura Shepard
of Bike New York.
20 AUGUST 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
Asked to clarify how this proposal
connects to the mayor’s “Green Wave”
plan, Restrepo said that it was meant to
exceed the minimum recommendations
that the plan sets out. He added that
the recommendation was not meant to
come at the exclusion of other bike lane
projects across the borough.
“We’re not saying DOT should work
on this first, exclusively. We think the
DOT has the role and imperative to really
look at being visionaries – to really
revitalize how they do their process.
This is a neighborhood system of bike
lanes. Typically the DOT works on a
street-by-street basis,” said Restrepo.
Jon Orcutt, a representative of Bike
New York clarified that he thought the
mayor’s plan was good but the 2030
map that it included was still “notional”
rather than a precise blueprint of how
it will be carried out.
He finds the agency’s approach encouraging,
but he said the “devil is in
the execution.” He says it will work if the
agency follows through on asking for community
input but insisting that community
boards do not have veto power because
bike lanes are a public safety priority.
He sees Van Bramer’s plan as a way
for Long Island City to step out first and
act as a role model for other neighborhoods.
“What the Council member and
our groups are saying is 30 miles a year?
We’re putting our hands up. Come here,”
said Orcutt.
Community News
Max Parrott/QNS
Van Bramer unveils ambitious plan to make LIC
a poster child for protected bike lanes
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer presents a map of
proposed protected bike lanes in Long Island City.
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