MILESTONES FOR BIKING & WALKING
Bike Lanes for Queens
New space for cycling is coming to Queens’ nascent bike network, correcting a historic inequity in the citywide distribution of bike lanes. From a protected bike lane network in Long Island City to traffic calming in Sunnyside, the tireless organizing of Transportation Alternatives’ Queens Activist Committee is getting borough-wide results. Local City Council members have endorsed plans for a protected bike lane on Crescent Street in Astoria to link the Queensboro and Triborough bridges, as well as activists’ demand for pedestrian access to the South Outer Roadway of the Queensboro Bridge. A new bike network in Flushing is 95 percent installed, and another network is coming to Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst. Road closures on Thomson Avenue in Long Island City and an extension of the Skillman Avenue bike lane into the heart of Court Square are both on the wish list.
Response to a Die-In
This has been the deadliest year for New York City cyclists in two decades. In response, TA and Families for Safe Streets organized a massive “die-in” protest that drew over 1,200 cyclists to Washington Square Park for an act of peaceful civil disobedience. The tragic death toll and the organized protest of cyclists furious with government inaction pushed Mayor Bill de Blasio to create Green Wave: A Plan for Cycling in New York City. It will raise protected bike lane installation targets, increase targeted truck enforcement, and implement new innovations, like the city’s first bike boulevard.
Master Plan for City Streets
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s Streets Master Plan bill passed and was signed into law this fall with support from TA. The new law will significantly increase bike and bus lane mileage, along with one million square feet of new pedestrian space, as part of a massive plan to build streets for people and help end New York City’s dependence on the automobile. It is clear that the era of piecemeal street improvements is in decline and the age of systemic reimagining has begun.
Lawsuits Dismissed
Angry drivers took to the courts this year with a stack of frivolous lawsuits in response to new bus and bike lanes that TA advocates recently helped secure in Queens and Manhattan.Luckily, judges have proven to be more enlightened than those seeking to hold up progress. A lawsuit against the 14th Street PeopleWay was denied this fall, and the car-free busway launched days later. This spring, a judge tossed out a lawsuit against a protected bike lane along Central Park West. When another judge dismissed a lawsuit against a bus lane on Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood, Queens, he invoked the hopeful future that TA fights for: “It’s not about a narrow group of people who use the roads anymore. You have car drivers, truck drivers, bus riders, pedestrians, and cyclists — and everybody has to share the road.”
New Rules for Cars and E-Bikes
New legislation to protect people walking and biking is on the books at the state and city level, or on-deck for passage soon thanks to TA and Families for Safe Streets’ advocacy in the City Council and State Legislature. Council Member Brad Lander introduced his Reckless Driver Accountability Act with TA support. The bill would impound vehicles that rack up five or more red-light or speed-camera violations. Council Member Antonio Reynoso recently passed his Commercial Waste Zones bill, which will create a new zoning system for private waste haulers, the most deadly vehicles on city streets. TA worked for five years with a coalition of environmental and labor organizations to see the bill made law. Also, after years of work, TA managed to clarify the city and state’s vague definitions of electric biking. Pending Governor Cuomo’s signature, most e-bikes and e-scooters will soon be legal, helping countless New Yorkers get around and protecting delivery workers from police harassment.
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