Saturday, October 7, 2017

New bike lane causing car crashes


From CBS:

Last week, the city installed the bike lane on heavily traveled Northern Boulevard between Douglaston Parkway and the Cross Island Parkway. It’s protected by a concrete divider, which some some say has led to accidents, including one Thursday.

The problem, opponents say, is that some motorists traveling along Northern Boulevard don’t know there’s a bike lane ahead, as the road narrows from three lanes to two. The bike lane and concrete divider appear to come out of nowhere, critics say.

There are no warning signs posted.

State Sen. Tony Avella said the bike lane is dangerous and needs to be scrapped.

“I think this is a nightmare,” he said.

Avella said the city Department of Transportation installed bright orange cones in front of the concrete barriers just Friday morning.

The senator said his office has received reports of four accidents there since the lane was installed, reports he is still trying to confirm. He said you can see scrape marks on the divider from where cars have apparently hit it.

“All of a sudden, you’re coming around a curve, and you’re hitting a concrete barrier,” he said.

Avella said the community board in the area wants the bike lane replaced with a lane built onto an expanded sidewalk off the road. Trottenberg said that would take too much time and money and that the current bike lane provides safety for cyclists now.


Has DOT ever listened to a community board?

51 comments:

Res Ipsa said...

The Commissioner's comment that you can't tell if it's dangerous from the driver's video is ridiculous. She could get in a car and see for herself what it looks like. Yes, people are generally opposed to bike lanes, but this setup looks particularly dangerous. I guess they won't care until a cyclist is hit despite the concrete divider. They could leave it as is and post a "road narrows ahead" sign with some merge left street markings so that people have notice. Not that difficult.

Anonymous said...

And the empty bike lanes of Queens Boulevard...continue to be empty. This frivolous madness is all about hating cars. Now they want to make driving difficult for drivers living in the outskirts of the outer Boroughs. There's no place to drop off a child, an elderly person, just empty bike lanes. I believe there's no hope for working middle class families living in this city. The best option is just to move some place else.

Anonymous said...

Whoever is doing this bikelane shit is mentally disturbed.
Starts at the top.

Anonymous said...

Everything, EVERYTHING! Community Boards give to the D.O.T. They fuck up, EVERYTHING...

Anonymous said...

I dont know how they are going to continue these bike lanes. I was driving down northern blvd yesterday and got off the cross island and noticed that the bike lanes stop at a certain point because there is no place else to put a bike lane due to one lane already being taken up by parked cars and the other two lanes for traffic. I though the purpose of a bike lane was for it to be continuing all along that specific street. Guess these idiots FORGOT that northern blvd is NOT as wide as they thought and once you get near, the burger king one of those lanes are for parking and northern Blvd starts to narrow out and becomes more congested. These politicians couldn't be anymore braindead.

Joe Moretti said...

This totally idiotic project was done to save money, bottom line. I mean who thinks up this stupid shit at the expense of lives. Polly want a cracker!

Gary W said...

New bike lane causing crashes? It's a feature not a bug.

Anonymous said...

It's a mess to drive on to begin with, before the bike lanes. Too many cars, crappy pavement, too tight to begin with, red light cameras, cops parked on the side streets and inthe center median waiting to find a reason to give tickets. This particular stretch is booby-trapped and and an obstacle course to begin with for drivers. They're really making it impossible for safe driving. Go in either direction of that stretch on Northern Blvd and the restaurants take over the street with their valet parking. Any person who enjoys biking or needs to bike knows that this area is dangerous and needs to avoid it. The starting point for safe bickering needs to start with eliminating that valet parking, it's dangerous and brings the flow of traffic to a stop. That's what should be on their radar.

Anonymous said...

We would blame city council for this because they can do just about anything to fix most problems but the blame here, as is almost always the case, is the apathetic voter that permits the politicians to destroy their community - and if they Democrats have their way, everything held sacred about our country.

Anonymous said...

. The best option is just to move some place else.

YEA, TRUMPLAND.

JQ LLC said...

Thanks for posting the video QC. Now I can wreck this shit. For this is outrageous.

Why does it have to be a TWO-WAY bike lane? Why not one on each side. And what the hell were they thinking putting it on what looks like a highway road? This may be the most absolute dumbest and dangerous thing ever implemented and I assume forced on a town because I refuse to believe the people of Douglaston or even the residents of nearby Creedmoor would approve of this.

Trottenburg is full of shit being that she is a humanoid bag of it. Funny, I expected her to be wearing rose colored glasses during that segment. She is a another bootlicking lapdog for the corrupt mayor and officially dumber and more willfully oblivious than the last DOT commish, the notorious Sadik-kahn.

You wanna discredit this appointed hack and her claim that it would be too expensive and time wasting to build a path on the sidewalk, look no further than Cross Bay Blvd. in Broad Channel. I know it's a federal park, but there is a smooth and ample 2 way bike path, even though there is still a bike lane on the street too. De Faustio really has a quite a confederacy of brainwashed dunces working under him. It's almost like a cult.

What I find preposterous is why they put concrete barriers in the first place. I don't know how is that suppose to protect cyclists. The 2 way makes it actually more hazardous for other bikers because of the lack of space.

There is no doubt there is a plan to discourage people from driving. I'm not from the area, but I sincerely doubt there is a big cycling community in Douglaston that warrants this as there is the now toniest and trendiest parts of goddamn brooklyn. Which is where they also have this nonsense. A good example is Prospect Park, where a majority of senior citizens were up in arms against it and the city officials shit on them.

I am not against bike lanes, they are needed, just THESE bike lanes. And the one on Queens Blvd, which nobody uses except me and a few others (and the ones I have seen ride the wrong side and ride japanese imitation vespas on them.)

I have been riding all my life in the boroughs, mostly Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan and 99% of the time without incident or a threat from vehicle drivers and without partitioned bike lanes. What the city has done to the streets with this unnecessary and intrusive infrastructure is insane and counterproductive and have been more consumed with this than actually fixing the damaged roads. Ironically, even the bike lanes are starting to get cracks and potholes (enough to damage a wheel and cause flats).

But this footage and this stupefying bike lane is the most offensive thing I have ever seen. My condolences to the people of Douglaston and any tax paying citizen who drives a car.

Vote for Nicole, Sal or Bo. De Faustio and his gang of idiots have got to be removed.

RIP Tom Petty. This should be apropos for this FUBAR situation and for the 4 unfortunate drivers of this city's managed incompetence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8m5p6V_NPQ





JQ LLC said...

Oh, this is too rich. If you look closely at the video I posted there is a highway sign for College Point and the Grand Central Parkway.

Anonymous said...

This is all pushed by Transportation Alternatives, so bullcrap commie front group
follow the money

Anonymous said...

Anon said, because there is no place else to put a bike lane due to one lane already being taken up by parked cars and the other two lanes for traffic.
Guess these idiots FORGOT that northern blvd is NOT as wide as they thought

These evil geniuses know exactly
Just wait & see how long till the parking spots are gone
Parking is being eliminated and screwed up more & more everyday
They're dreaming of all cars being gone
What's screwed up is the people who can afford and drive cars are the stupid a$$holes that pay a lot of taxes so the scum can get the free stuff from government
The next wave will move out as soon as big bird gets another term
He'll have nothin to worry bout cause of term limits
This whole city is totally F#%&@ED

Anonymous said...

Dot can’t even keep up on worn pavement markings or defective lighting on the highways. Do any officials ever drive the the highways and parkways after dark.?

Anonymous said...

Congestion is want they want (and create), congestion pricing/tolls is what they are after.
This is no longer America, is more like some fucked up Banana Republic with a bozo mayor and grandstanding loser politicians with fat wallets.

Anonymous said...

Why do they want cars gone,but the mass transit infrastructure can’t handle the amount of ridership that we have now?
Wait till SBS starts on Woodhaven/Crossbay blvd. This will slow not only passenger car and commercial traffic,it will also slow down the busses when pissed off drivers use the dedicated bus lanes.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if football head Vallone will do anything

Anonymous said...

I drove east on Northern early this afternoon in this area. The westbound lanes of cars were at a complete stop. They can screw up anything. It was bad before, now worse. And by the way, the bike lane were not being used by any bikers.

Anonymous said...

but...but...but...biking is so carbon neutral

Anonymous said...

"I wonder if football head Vallone will do anything "

Do.....did you say do.... do? hahhaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha

Oh boy...you want him to do something....oh that's funny

Anonymous said...

#triggered

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
Queen

Anonymous said...

Most of these comments are undoubtedly from people who don't understand why this new bikelane exists.

This is not just some bike lane randomly placed. This lane was needed for the cyclists to get to the cross island path and also the bike paths that start and end by Burger King that lead to and from Alley Pond Park. While the current configuration needs a fix as the video shows, the lane is necessary as it was extremely dangerous for cyclists before.

JQ LLC said...

"While the current configuration needs a fix as the video shows, the lane is necessary as it was extremely dangerous for cyclists before."

I don't doubt that at all. But it should be one way. Funny thing is that they should have made the sidewalk a combo foot and bike path and the lane on the street go another direction, that way cars wouldn't have to merge.

Saying it needs a fix is a massive understatement. Trottenberg's haughtiness shows that they don't give a shit and the people driving on the blvd are just guinea pigs and test monkeys for their moronic rerouting of the streets.

Christ, they did not even put up a road narrows sign. Abominable

Anonymous said...

Bicylcle nuts and streetsblog assholes are a bunch of facists!! There is no dissent and no room for argument!!!

Anonymous said...

We should post a sign that says - "Welcome to Queens, New York - the new Third World Country"

Only in Third World Countries is transportation via bicycle in mass the norm. This is a gross waste of time and tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

News alert !
"New 2016 data shared from the National Safety Council estimates that as many as 40,000 people died in motor vehicles crashes last year, a 6% rise from 2015. If those numbers bear out, it would be a 14% increase in deaths since 2014, the biggest two-year jump in more than five decades."

Anonymous said...

but...but...but...biking is so carbon neutral

Do tell. While you are pedaling in December in 20F you would be farting worse than a cow.
All that methane=Global Climate Change.

People need to seriously start voting nad throw this motherfucker degenerates out of office. There is no excuse for allowing all this crazy shit to happen.

Anonymous said...

"Bicylcle nuts and streetsblog assholes are a bunch of facists!"
Really ! Can you explain ?

Anonymous said...

It's not a highway, it's Northern Blvd and it is the only through street in this area. Cyclists have no alternate routes. If you want to drive quickly East or West, take the LIE. What? The LIE is a parking lot? You're right, it must be the bikes that are the problem.

Anonymous said...

I drive a car and I hate sitting in traffic too. That doesn't make me more important than anyone else. The comments on this blog really highlight the small mindedness of some of the population in Queens.

Anonymous said...

"Congestion is want they want (and create), congestion pricing/tolls is what they are after."
Yes, because somehow creating congestion in the Eastern end of Queens will have any bearing on tolling the East river bridges. It's also amazing how there was never any congestion driving into or traveling in Manhattan before bike lanes.

Anonymous said...

"Any person who enjoys biking or needs to bike knows that this area is dangerous and needs to avoid it."
And they should take what? The LIE?

Anonymous said...

"What I find preposterous is why they put concrete barriers in the first place. I don't know how is that suppose to protect cyclists. The 2 way makes it actually more hazardous for other bikers because of the lack of space."
If you get hit by another bicycle, you get banged up or get road rash. If you get hit by a two ton steel car, you are most likely killed. Why is it so preposterous that the barrier is to protect bikes from cars. It was installed as a two way lane so that only one lane of traffic was taken away, not two. It looks like the city was trying to appease the blind and dumb with that move, they should have just taken a lane on each side of Northern to make two one way bike lanes.

JQ LLC said...

"Why is it so preposterous that the barrier is to protect bikes from cars."

Because as you can see from the video it is not much of a deterrent, especially to drivers unfamiliar with the area and the obvious lack of a "road narrows" sign.

Good point on how the city thought to just put a two lane instead of one on both sides. Like everywhere else they have painted them.

Anonymous said...

It is not a deterrent, it is a physical barrier. The video proves that.

Anonymous said...

It's not a highway, it's Northern Blvd and it is the only through street in this area. Cyclists have no alternate routes.

Who is biking from these areas? The chicanos? More than sure the good people of Little Neck, Douglaston and Great NEck are not biking into Bayside never midn Manhattan.
You family needs to trade you in for a pet monkey, that's how stupid you are.

Anonymous said...

Yes, because somehow creating congestion in the Eastern end of Queens will have any bearing on tolling the East river bridges. It's also amazing how there was never any congestion driving into or traveling in Manhattan before bike lanes.

So once you take your head out of your asshole, there is a new trend called congestion pricing by the mile.
So while you were smoking crack, the world went by and the bolshevik communists have new ways of separating you from your money.
Get with the times pal.

Anonymous said...

The comments on this blog really highlight the small mindedness of some of the population in Queens.

Well excuse us you progressive liberal, we are small minded, because we are getting ripped off left and right by your favorite politicians that decided they know better.
While you are at it, tell us how much taxes bikers pay into the city and state coffers.
Because my registration fees, gasoline taxes pay for the fucking road. But you are too stupid to understand that and accidents created by this idiotic bike bullshit is OK with you and we are fucking small minded.
Furthermore bikes are equal to any other vehicles on the road, but why the obsession to create separate lanes for bikers when nobody, I mean nobody will be in those lanes for the most part of the year.
You think we are in Amsterdam?
What scares the shit out of me is that some of you people actually vote, but in reality you belong to the looney bin.

Anonymous said...

I have a confession to make: I'm a biker.

Typically, I ride 100 miles or more per week during warmer months (April-October) although not so much this year due to my current situation.

That being said: I was one of the sane people who called for Community Board 11 to turn down the bicycle lanes as proposed by the DOT back in June based on A) safety concerns and B) traffic flow. Neither of these have been addressed correctly with what's been done, nor has a left turn signal going west to Alley Pond Environmental Center, something that's been asked for for over 30 years.

I sat down with members of the Transportation Committee prior to that meeting and helped design an alternative to what was being proposed, as I felt that this plan was dangerous and not feasible in its current form.

The best solution - and a safe and sensible one - is to widen the existing pedestrian pathway from Joe Michael's Mile to Douglaston Parkway on the north side of Northern Boulevard. This is not an impossibility, as all of that land is owned by the City of New York. It just takes coordination and negotiation between different agencies and elected officials.

As we've seen this past week, the rollout and implementation of this particular plan was disastrous. My opponent, Paul Vallone, who was in favor of this plan and *never* spoke out against it, is now trying to backtrack.

I'm a planner. What does this mean? Planning is essential to the successful rollout and implementation of a particular campaign, whether it be a rezoning of a neighborhood or the alteration of an existing traffic pattern.

Creating bike lanes at all costs with no regards to reality is NOT successful planning. It's an invitation for both children and adults, who think that the bike lanes are safe, to being seriously injured or killed - the exact result that these bike lanes are supposed to solve.

Considering that the DOT's own study showed a lack of need for these lanes - with approximately 50 cyclists on that stretch of road on a typical Saturday - it's fairly mind-boggling that there was such a push for this on what is one of the most heavily trafficked highways (Route 25A) in New York City.

Put the bikes on a shared pedestrian/bike lane off of Northern Boulevard. This is the way to ensure that cars and trucks are segregated from pedestrians and cyclists. It's much easier for cyclists to share a sidewalk/pathway with pedestrians than it is to "Share the Road" with tens of thousands of vehicles.

Paul Graziano
Candidate for City Council, 19th District

Queens Crapper said...

"It's not a highway, it's Northern Blvd."

Northern Blvd is a highway as is Queens Blvd.

JQ LLC said...

Thank you crapper, for pointing out it's a highway, highway 25a which goes all the way to the end north of L.I. as is Queens Blvd, highway 25 (it's 4 lanes and the middle ones the speed limit is higher, duh, same with Woodhaven Blvd) and Paul Graziano for your personal aspect and expertise, sorry you didn't win.

You know, and sorry for condoning vandalism, it would be a good political protest to tag these barriers by insulting the city and it's hack politicians like these fair weather protesters are vandalizing the statues of Columbus.

JQ LLC said...

"It is not a deterrent, it is a physical barrier. The video proves that."

And the video proves that it doesn't work or is safe. as that car proves. And the biker riding the correct way is in more danger from a passing cyclist coming in the other direction. The barrier actually makes the lanes smaller.

Long Island has bike lanes without barriers and they have a higher speed limit.

Anonymous said...

Thank you crapper, for pointing out it's a highway, highway 25a which goes all the way to the end north of L.I. as is Queens Blvd, highway 25 (it's 4 lanes and the middle ones the speed limit is higher, duh, same with Woodhaven Blvd) and Paul Graziano for your personal aspect and expertise, sorry you didn't win.

You know, and sorry for condoning vandalism, it would be a good political protest to tag these barriers by insulting the city and it's hack politicians like these fair weather protesters are vandalizing the statues of Columbus.


JQ LLC - I'm sorry I didn't win the Democratic Primary as well, but I'm still on the ballot in the General Election on November 7th. The 19th Council District has another chance to vote for me.

Paul Graziano,

Candidate for City Council, 19th District

Anonymous said...

No shit, Sherlock!
AND an increase in ER admissions for victims of bike accidents.
They mow down
More pedestrians than ever!
Rip up those Bloomberg bile lanes.....a dangerous folly!

Anonymous said...

"Because my registration fees, gasoline taxes pay for the fucking road."
Actually, they only pay for about 44% of the roads.
https://taxfoundation.org/gasoline-taxes-and-tolls-pay-only-third-state-local-road-spending/

"Furthermore bikes are equal to any other vehicles on the road"
The laws of physics dictate otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Where are they gonna pile all the snow when it starts to fall? On the bike or the right car lane?

Anonymous said...

Would someone be so kind as to provide a definition of "highway" that would encompass roads with lights and crossstreets like Queens and Northern Blvds?

Anonymous said...

What the story leaves out is that the bike line crosses the entrance and exit ramps to the cross island parkway. The green signal is the same for those on bikes and the traffic entering the parkway from Northern Boulevard. Now that's safety?

M. How said...

Anonymous makes a prescient statement: "... how much taxes [do] bikers pay into the city and state coffers. ... my registration fees, gasoline taxes pay for the ... road."

Another anonymous commenter noted: "... Actually, they (car owners) only pay for about 44% of the roads. (https://taxfoundation.org/gasoline-taxes-and-tolls-pay-only-third-state-local-road-spending/)"

Now, it's beginning to make sense!

If car owners only pay 44% in registration fees and gasoline taxes, deFaustio, et al., has now figured out where the other 56% will come from to fill the coffers. Yes, bicycles, manual and gas powered, will have to be registered and licensed. Clever. You think not? You don't know deFaustio et al.

Another clever way to fill the coffers (as well as cover for a good political kickback) is the contract for the special paint colors and the contractors needed to maintain the bike paths.

Additionally, it would be nice to know whether the paint and the painting contractors were bid contracts or just "friendly" non-bid contracts doled out by deFaustio and DOT.

However, that information would probably have to be discovered by Judicial Watch.

Anonymous said...

There was yet another accident because of the bike lane. Right on northern blvd and the exit of cross island. Ambulance and fire dept were on the scene. Why camt the bikers use the side walk??? Makes no sense in such a busy area. I havent seen 1 cyclist yet. They can bike ride along the cross island. Northern blvd bike lane is causing more chaos. People are getting into accidents. Not funny.