32 DECEMBER 12, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Data shows protected bike lanes in
Sunnyside boosted female ridership
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A new Quartzy article that
analyzed why women are less
likely to bike to work than men,
contained some interesting news for
the Queens bike community.
The article, which presented several
surveys that found the undergirding
reason why women bike in fewer
numbers is due to safety concerns.
The article crunched some data that
suggests that female riders are more
attentive to safety conditions than
their male peers.
To illustrate this point, it used the
installation of parking-protected
lanes on both 43rd Avenue and Skillman
Avenue in Sunnyside in 2018.
The bike lanes are each five to six
feet wide and buffered from ongoing
traffic by a lane of parked cars.
Data that fitness startup Strava
provided and analyzed showed that
new protected bike lanes significantly
increased the amount of female
bike traffic on the strip.
In 2019, women ridership increased
by 40 percent on 43rd and nearly 50
percent on Skillman than they had in
2018. Meanwhile male ridership on
that strip did not increase after the
new infrastructure upgrades.
The study analyzed 11,416 bike trips
by women borough-wide between
2015 and 2019, according to Quartzy.
The article argues that the metrics
that the city uses to determine risk
— crash counts and rates — could not
A look at 43rd Avenue before it received it’s parking-lane buff ered bike lane treatment. Photo courtesy of the Department of Transportation
have uncovered the gender disparity
in ridership.
Last week, at her end-of-year town
hall, state Senator Jessica Ramos
echoed the safety concerns that the
studies supports as she announced
her effort to bring protected bike
lanes to 34th Avenue in Jackson
Heights.
She has requested the city’s Department
of Transportation make
an inversion of the bike lanes and
the parking spaces on 34th Avenue
similar to the one that was made to
Skillman and 43rd Avenue.
The town hall happened prior to
the study. While Ramos didn’t turn
the infrastructure project into a
gender equity issue, she did say that
for her personally, safety concerns
stop her from biking in her own
neighborhood.
“The reason I don’t ride a bicycle, as
a professional pedestrian, is because
I’m mortified that I might be hit by a
car. So I figure that if we offer these
protected bike lanes, I might be able
to ride with my kids,” Ramos said.
When asked by QNS what the timeline
of the new bike lane upgrades
would be, Ramos said that the talks
with the DOT were still preliminary
and it was too early to say.
Spectrum opens a new location in Glendale
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A new Spectrum location opened
its doors in Glendale last week,
giving the neighborhood’s
residents a more convenient place to
visit the business.
The new storefront is located at
80-28 Cooper Ave., Suite 6-112 in The
Shops at Atlas Park. The Spectrum
store will be open Monday through
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and
Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Spectrum is offering customers
the chance to learn more about their
services, including Spectrum video,
internet, voice services, and their
latest addition, Spectrum Mobile.
Customers can also complete transactions
such as account payments
and upgrading or exchanging
equipment.
“Our new Spectrum stores provide
an updated design and enhancements
for showcasing innovation
across the full suite of Spectrum
services,” said Pattie Eliason, group
vice president at Spectrum Stores.
“Our representatives will show
customers the latest advances in
technology — including our exciting
new Spectrum Mobile options
— help them become familiar with
using it and put together just the
right package of Spectrum services
for their home and family.”
This is just one of the many Spectrum
locations in Queens, including
their recently opened Forest Hills
store.
For more information, visit
spectrum.com.
Spectrum opened a new location in The Shops at Atlas Park on Dec. 5.
Photo courtesy of Spectrum
/spectrum.com
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
