Zohran asks the Future Mayor for Help on Crescent
My neighbors, bike friends and I have been organizing & fighting for safer streets in Astoria for years now and we recently won a game-changing, ground-breaking cycle path in NW Queens: a two way protected bike lane on Crescent Street in Astoria. Linking the Triboro & Queensboro Bridges by bike for the first time ever, NYC Department of Transportation created on Crescent Street a spine of a potentially universe-altering network of protected bike lanes.
The ridership in Astoria has skyrocketed this summer — and tbh, perhaps Netherlands style mode share could be here if there were safe biking or scootering throughout the neighborhood (21st St, 31st St, Steinway St, 20th Ave, Ditmars Blvd, Astoria Blvd, 30th Ave, 31st Ave, Broadway, 34th Ave — all cry out for safe, protected biking infrastructure). Astorians are already moving on two wheels but need DOT’s help. And not just help building out the network—but also perfecting & fully protecting the existing spine: the two way bike lane on Crescent Street.
In that vein, it’s a comfort (in a relatively bleak mayoral race to begin with) that two of the four leading candidates have signed onto Assembly Member Zohran' Mamdani’s pledge of policy improvements for Crescent Street. These are real, tangible improvements that would materially improve existing bike lanes and support bike ridership growth — not just here in Astoria, but throughout the entire city. NYC DOT has been under Mayor Bill de Blasio has been too slow (or absent altogether) when it comes to adapting, in growing, in delivering high quality product across the board (and not just on certain corners or in certain neighborhoods). AM Mamdani’s leadership on this issue is a bright hope for Queens and for the city/state. Here’s to fighting to improve & better this city’s transit infrastructure. The people of New York — the workers of New York — need it and are demanding it. Let’s go out and give it to them.
Text of Zohran’s letter that he asked the four leading mayoral candidates to sign:
Dear Astorians,
The Crescent Street bike lane has had an incredible impact on Astoria. By creating the spine of a bike network through the center of your neighborhood, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has demonstrated that the demand for better bike infrastructure in Western Queens is strong. There were 600 daily trips on average this past winter, more than 1,000 on average in the spring, and summer has set new records, with 1,727 using the lane on June 11. Yet, as I celebrate its accomplishments, I also note that the current infrastructure and design of the bike lane illustrates that there is still more to be done to ensure that all riders are truly protected.
The following is a list of desperately needed transportation improvements for Crescent Street and bike lanes in the surrounding area. If elected as your next mayor, I pledge to implement these changes through my DOT. These reforms are centered around creating a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians—not only to avoid more tragedies such as the deaths of Xing Long Lin, Alfredo Cabrera Liconia, and Xellea Samonte, but also to promote alternative methods of transportation that are better for our city and our environment.
Make Protected Bike Lanes Truly Protected
Bike lanes without true separation from cars are not safe. Flex posts spaced every 4-6 feet allow cars to weave in and out of bike lanes without causing damage to the vehicle, but leave cyclists vulnerable to crashes. To make our city a safe one for cyclists, the DOT will fit all protected bike lanes in Astoria with concrete barriers to provide true separation between cyclists and motor vehicles.
Additionally, the DOT will install flexible bike lane safety posts, also known as bollards, at the entrances and exits where installing concrete barriers is not feasible. This will ensure that bike lanes are not cut-thrus for cars and trucks.
Extend Barriers To Crosswalks To Incentivize Wide Turns
The DOT will ensure that any barrier separating the bike lane from the road in Astoria will fully extend to the crosswalk on both sides of the intersection. Curb extensions, already installed on bikeways in Manhattan, will be added to all turns to force motor vehicles to make wider and slower turns. This will eliminate the danger that many cyclists and pedestrians face from tight turns by reckless drivers, a danger that has already led to a number of traffic fatalities.
Provide Dedicated Loading Zones For Drivers
If the only space available to park is in a permeable bike lane, it is only logical that people will park in the bike lane. DOT will set aside dedicated space in Astoria for loading & unloading, without infringing on the protected bike lane, to allow business and residents to continue alongside the new traffic pattern. Blocks with margins and altered parking regulations, such as Crescent Street south of 31st Ave, would function well for such purposes.
Extend The Two Way Bike Lane to 20th Avenue
Currently, Crescent Street’s two-way protected bike lane arbitrarily ends at the Triboro Bridge, meaning that cyclists wanting to continue north are simply abandoned. DOT will extend the two-way bike lane north of the Triboro Bridge to 20th Avenue to ensure a two-way bike lane exists for the entirety of the corridor.
Communicate New Design More Clearly
The DOT will add green paint through driveways and intersections to clearly illuminate the necessary traffic safety patterns and add signage and signals indicating that cars must yield to bikes & pedestrians signs to keep bikers safe. These treatments are used on other highly trafficked lanes in Manhattan and Brooklyn that have frequent conflict points and have proved successful in helping to prevent cyclist fatalities.
Create An E/W Protected Bike Lane & A Full Network Of Protected Bike Lanes
A bike lane is only as good as the network it connects to and, in Astoria, this network is in its infancy. DOT will invest in and expand this network by installing an East-West protected bike lane on a centrally located street in Astoria and then building out additional pairs to create a true network of protected bike lanes. Just as we ensure it is safe to walk on every street by installing sidewalks, it must be safe to bike on every street.
If elected mayor, I make this pledge to implement these changes to avoid the preventable deaths of more New Yorkers and to build a safer and greener city.
Signed,