The expanded joys of cycling

New,

by Deirdre Bardolf Chronicle Contributor

“Life is like riding a bicycle,” Albert Einstein said, “To keep your balance you must keep moving.” love for cycling as well as the adventures they have embarked upon here. The goal is “to form a stronger and more supportive cycling community within our great Queens borough,” according to the page.

And that is evident here in Queens, where cycling is on the rise and the infrastructure to support it is keeping up the pace.

Nabil Ahmed Khatari, a 27-year-old software engineer from Flushing, has replaced most of his car trips with bike rides.

“It’s both recreation and primarily how I get around,” said Khatari.

“Commuting to work, doctor’s appointments, grocery runs, even dropping off my younger sister to school,” are all done on two wheels now, he said.

Khatari commutes to Manhattan, often trekking through the cyclist-friendly and scenic 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights and hitches a cargo trailer to the back of one of his three bikes to run errands when he’s not shuttling his sister off to high school.

“I wouldn’t say it replaces cars necessarily because it’s not always practical in Queens, but replacing some car trips, I think it would make people happier, healthier,” he said.

For recreation, he says he enjoys biking through the beautiful parks Queens has to offer, such as Kissena and Cunningham, and checking out the progress made on paths like the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway.

Khatari is not alone.

Though there is still room for improvement, like more accessible paths in underserved parts of the borough and safer conditions on the existing routes, many acknowledge how far biking in the borough has come — even those from neighboring boroughs.

“Queens has come such a long way in the bike infrastructure arena,” said Allison Cline, a Brooklynite who is part of the Queens Cycling Club.

“I remember hurtling down the Queensboro [Bridge] onto some sketchy pavement with fading, cracked bike lane paint. And now? Sweet, smooth fresh paint bike tracks to welcome you to Queens,” said Cline.

“They have a long way to go, but what a start,” she added. “Nothing like riding your bike over some freshly laid bike path.”

And Cline is not the only Brooklyn native boasting about the riding Queens has to offer. Melissa Duchan moved from there to Rego Park and recently started commuting to her office in Midtown.

“I find that the infrastructure where I am now is much better than where I grew up in Brooklyn,” Duchan said. There are protected lanes from her apartment all the way to work.

Future Transportation

Cycling in New York City has reached an all-time high, the Department of Transportation announced in April. Last year, for the first time ever, more than 24,000 trips were recorded over East River bridges during an average, in-season weekday, according to the agency.

Communities have also arisen throughout Queens that celebrate biking and share events and regular rides, all for free and open to the public.

The Queens Social Ride meets every Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a 15- to 30-mile ride to different parts of Queens. Participants go from 8 to 13 mph on their journeys.

The Queens Cycling Group on Facebook has over 1,000 members. Members share a

Some of the improvements are thanks to connecting different bike paths together, an effort that remains underway.

“Queens has some spectacular and unique bike infrastructure,” said Jessame Hannus, also of Rego Park.

“You could do a trip from the Queensboro Bridge to Flushing Meadows Corona Park and back and be on bike lanes just about 100 percent of the way,” Hannus said. “Much of that is protected and downright lovely.”

And the work continues to ensure safe and smooth spins.

The DOT is on track to install a record number of protected bike lanes this year, to “harden,” or add barriers, to more than 10 miles of existing bike lanes and to use sturdier materials in new ones, it announced along with the ridership boom.

“Upcoming protected bike lane projects include a range of high-ridership corridors, bridges, priority investment areas in underserved communities, and innovative bike boulevards,” the agency said at the time.

Improved locations include the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge to Cross Bay Boulevard as well as Vernon Boulevard from the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge to the Esplanade Entrance.

Open Street redesigns are in the works for 33rd Avenue from Utopia Parkway to 215th Place in Bayside and 31st Avenue in Astoria. The first phase of a community bike network is coming to Community District 11. Protected bike lanes are on the way for Astoria Heights and Cypress Avenue in Ridgewood.

Procurement is taking place for the DOT’s Better Barriers program. The agency will test new curb materials at targeted locations citywide, including on 11th Street and Jackson Avenue in Long Island City.

Bike lanes on Queens Boulevard have been expanded and hardened, including three-quarters of a mile of delineator-protected bike lanes with Jersey barriers from 72nd Street to Grand Avenue back in May. That built upon 3.7 miles of bike lane hardening on the notoriously dangerous boulevard last year, for a total of 4.4 lane miles.

“Hardening bike lanes across Queens to making the Joseph Addabbo Bridge more accessible to cyclists and e-bike users are direct investments in equitable street safety, and I thank the DOT for its partnership in protecting all who use our roadways,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards in a statement back when the DOT made its ridership and infrastructure announcement.

Richards said he looks forward to “doubling and tripling down” on future shared efforts.

“We’re focusing on thoughtfully expanding our existing bike network with new lanes in underserved communities; new connections across bridges; and comprehensive neighborhood networks — all while developing innovative new bike boulevard designs that reduce vehicle volumes and prioritize cycling safety,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez explained back in April.

Events, too, will encourage the biking movement.

On July 29, the citywide Summer Streets program will come to the LIC and Astoria waterfront, where it will run along Vernon Boulevard from 44th Drive to 30th Drive.

“Summer Streets is a must-do for walkers, runners, bikers, or anyone who wants to celebrate the summer in New York,” said Laura Rothrock, president of the Long Island City Partnership, in a release about the event last week.

Beyond the obvious benefits of biking for health and the environment are innovative new ways to maximize the paths, something that was seen in Rockaway earlier this month.

Thanks to a multiagency effort, a $16.6 million infrastructure project that rebuilt Beach 108th Street from Beach Channel Drive to Shore Front Parkway was completed, bringing not only protected biking but expanded pedestrian space and enhanced traffic safety to the corridor.

The kicker? It features porous pavement that will allow nearly 1.3 million gallons of stormwater to be absorbed into the ground each year, aiming to reduce flooding.

In a prepared statement about the project, Rodriguez said, “These changes improve safety for all road users and support safe, sustainable, and efficient transportation options for New Yorkers.”