Cyclists could soon see more bike lanes, bike parking and sharing programs in western Queens — if the city rolls with their suggestions.
About 40 avid bicyclists met with city officials and local leaders recently to brainstorm ways to make Community Board 2, which covers Sunnyside, Woodside and swaths of Long Island City, more bike-friendly.
Suggestions included making the Queensboro Bridge, Greenpoint Ave. and Queens Blvd. more accessible to bikers.
“We definitely see there’s a great deal of excitement for bicycling in Queens,” Hayes Lord, director of the Department of Transportation’s Bicycle Program, said at the Saturday meeting. “We definitely want to support that.”
Participants divided into groups to devise their bicycling wish lists with a handful of markers on giant maps of the district.
Sarah Acheson, 35, of Woodside, who bikes to and from work in Manhattan each day, said a bike lane on Queens Blvd. would be a good start.
“We need more protection as cyclists — especially on Queens Blvd.,” she said.
Biker Peter Beadle, 41, of Rego Park, said Queens needs a stronger bike network.
“Gas prices are always going up, transit fares are going up,” Beadle said. “A bicycle as a means of transportation can be the most effective way for someone to go to their job.”
Lord said the city plans to evaluate the feasibility of the suggestions and ultimately implement some of them.
The goal is “to be able to develop a network that came from the community,” he said.
Joseph Conley, chairman of Community Board 2, said his board has been pushing the city to create more bike lanes and offer a bike-share program in the area.
“We know the population is growing — the number of people that use bikes going to and from work and for recreation,” he said. “With that increasing population, we need to be more mindful of safety and where to park bikes.”
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who sponsored the forum with Community Board 2, said biking in Queens can be frightening when bike lanes end suddenly — and it’s unclear where the next one is.
“I want to see people from the neighborhood tell the Department of Transportation what would be the safest and best way to bike in Queens,” said Van Bramer, who is also a cyclist. “Maybe there are bike lanes that aren’t in the places they should be.”
