4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 7, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Bayside activist says bike lane confi guration helps no one
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Longtime Bayside resident Helina
Cheung, an avid cyclist and runner, said
she and neighbors are left befuddled by a
bike lane project recently installed in the
neighborhood.
“When my husband and I saw the project,
we said, ‘Th is project doesn’t make
sense at all,’” Cheung told Th e Courier
while onsite.
Th e project along the Alley Pond Park
edge, between Northern Boulevard and
Springfi eld Boulevard, was installed by
the city’s Department of Transportation
(DOT) this past winter. It is one part of
a larger safety project presented by the
DOT to Community Board 11 in June
2017.
Community board members voted
unanimously in favor of the Alley Pond
segment of the project, while support for
the Northern Boulevard segment, which
has faced community scrutiny, has since
been revoked. In March, Th e Courier
spoke with a local property owner who
claimed the project causes “mass confusion”
for drivers and pedestrians.
Th e Alley Pond safety project fl ipped
the existing bike and parking lanes at the
location and installed a four-foot protective
buff er between the two. Th e bike lane
is now situated closest to the park’s edge
and cars are to park in a “fl oating parking
lane.” A lane for moving traffi c is situated
next to the fl oating parking lane.
According to Cheung, many cars drive
in the fl oating parking lane or bike lanes,
creating dangerous conditions. A lack of
signage and worn paint at the site add to
this confusion, she said.
“Since there’s no sign on the road, people
don’t realize that lane is actually for
parking,” Cheung said. “Th ey come to the
road and they think it’s a moving lane.
I’ve just seen so many today.”
Th e confi guration causes particular
confusion at the intersection of 46th
Avenue and Cloverdale Boulevard, she
continued. Street markings are particularly
faded in this area.
Cheung noted she and her husband
have been faced with drivers swerving
onto oncoming traffi c at the intersection.
A neighbor also told Cheung about
a near-collision she was involved in a few
weeks ago.
“I use this road to go to Northern
Boulevard,” she continued. “Drivers use
the other lanes too, because they’re going
at a fast speed and they almost crash into
the cars … Cars park in the bike lane and
the cyclists need to detour into the outside
lanes.”
A series of laminated “no parking” signs
can be seen posted in the vicinity of 223rd
Street, but the signage ends at Cloverdale
Boulevard. Further, while there is “Bike
Lane” signage near 50th Avenue, it is
installed on the opposite side of the street.
Large branches, garbage and rough
road surface in areas of the bike lane create
a hazard for cyclists, Cheung said. Th e
resident used the route under the previous
confi guration.
“Before, they had a shared lane on the
outside of the parking lane,” she said.
“As a cyclist, I won’t use these new lanes;
they’re dangerous … Th ey install these
bike lanes for the cyclists and their safety,
but if they don’t enforce it in the
right way, why bother to make these bike
lanes?”
In recent weeks, Cheung has reached
out to Community Board 11 and state
Senator Tony Avella’s offi ce with her concerns.
She is awaiting a response.
A DOT spokesperson told Th e Courier
that “remaining markings will be installed
this summer.”
“Th e fi nal design, along with parking
enforcement, will address these concerns,”
the spokesperson continued. “Th e
bike lane was designed to allow for a
street sweeper to pass and remove debris
from the lane.”
Th e spokesperson did not specify
whether the fi nal design includes plans to
repave or install signage at the location.
Th e Alley Pond safety project also passes
through P.S. 213, located at 231st Street
and 67th Avenue. In November 2017,
community members from the school
raised concerns with the project, citing
worsened drop-off and pick-up conditions.
The Alley Pond and Northern
Boulevard projects were spurred by the
death of Michael Schenkman, a 78-yearold
cyclist who was struck by a car in the
area and killed in August 2016.
Th e Northern Boulevard project stirred
up some debate in the local community
in the last year. Some elected offi -
cials and Community Board 11 members
argued the bike lanes should instead
be built on the existing sidewalk running
along Northern Boulevard, while bike
advocates spoke out in favor of the addition,
which implemented more immediate
safety measures.
As for the Northern Boulevard bike
lane, Cheung cycles along the route and
has seen a diff erence in safety.
“A lot of drivers don’t show concern
for pedestrians,” she said. “I’m a driver,
cyclist and pedestrian. I see it all.”
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/The Courier
Bayside resident Helina Cheung stands at the Alley Pond bike lane project
Navy jet noise study good news for Queens, Congresswoman says
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Queens lawmaker’s eff ort to limit
aircraft noise over the borough is moving
forward.
Congresswoman Grace Meng’s measure
to authorize a Navy Jet Noise Reduction
Program has passed the House. Th e program,
an initiative within the U.S. Navy’s
Offi ce of Naval Research, seeks to reduce
engine noise of high-performance military
air craft s.
Research and subsequent changes
implemented to the military air craft s
could then be applied to commercial
jets, Meng said. Under the provision, the
Secretary of the Navy is directed to share
relevant noise reduction discoveries with
the civilian aviation community.
Th is research could result in decreased
noise over Queens, the congresswoman
said.
“Th e Jet Noise Reduction Program
has the potential to be a critical component
in mitigating excessive aircraft
noise over communities like Queens,”
said Meng, who is a founding member
of the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus.
“Th at is why it’s important for Congress
to authorize this initiative and I’m pleased
that the House has voted to do so.”
Th e measure was cosponsored by fellow
New York Congress members Joe
Crowley, Hakeem Jeff ries, Kathleen Rice
and Tom Suozzi, who said the measure is
“an important fi rst step in seeking a longterm
solution to noise pollution.”
“Noise pollution has been a quality
of life issue for the residents of Queens
and Nassau Counties for way too long,”
said Suozzi, who represents northeast
Queens and Long Island. “As co-chair of
the Quiet Skies Caucus, I have made it a
priority to ensure that excessive aircraft
noise levels are reduced.”
With full Congressional support,
Meng’s provision would be passed as
an amendment to the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA): the annual
legislation that establishes the U.S.
Department of Defense’s funding levels
and policies. Th e bill would take eff ect
on Oct. 1.
Th e provision follows news earlier
this year that the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) was being being
directed to take an updated look at the
way it measures aircraft noise and its
eff ects on surrounding communities,
including Queens.
Th e agency will evaluate alternative
metrics to the current method of studying
the airplane noise via the Day-Night
Average Sound Level (DNL), which Meng
called “outdated” in a statement released
in April.
Queens is home to LaGuardia and JFK
International Airports, two of the busiest
in the country. In 2015, the FAA began a
multi-year eff ort to update scientifi c evidence
on the relationship between aircraft
noise exposure and its eff ects on communities
surrounding airports.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/xlibber
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