Queenplaza Bike Lanes
The bike lanes through Queensplaza from Queens Blvd are starting to take shape. Very exciting!
I’m still not clear how exactly you’re supposed to exit the bridge and head east. But I’ll assume they’re doing something logical and not leaving the long bike-the-wrong-way-against-traffic section heading east off the bridge.
7 Responses
I can't wait for them to be done – I access the bridge from the west, and right now it's pretty dangerous.
But sadly they have reinstated the gate on the Manhattan side. Also, there's construction on 59th st between 1st and 2nd, which used to be my preferred method of accessing 2nd.
That is the gate of frustration!
And why? So cars can zoom through to stop at a light?
It's horrible for bikes. It's worse for pedestrians.
But you can still go between 1st and 2nd Ave through the construction. Or at least I do. But maybe I go through after the construction ends in the evening.
I don't like riding through construction zones – I can't imagine the workers feel safe about it. The other day I walked my bike along the sidewalk there, that wasn't too bad.
Today I joined car traffic and headed west along 61st street. I think I'll stick with that for the foreseeable future.
I also noticed that the asphalt that had been laid for the new queesnsplaza lanes had been scraped off over the weekend. I wonder why?
61st St. is fine if you're heading west (and it may be my imagination, but I think the lights are timed better than on 60th St). But it's not acceptable if you're heading south on 2nd Ave and have to go through the bridge-entrance car clusterfuck.
And I'm no construction expert, but I think that asphalt was just the foundation. I think the rough up is to smooth it out.
I've been taking Lexington Ave, riding in the Bus Lane. I like it better than 2nd ave. But I'm only heading south as far as 55th…
Two observations on the new route. Both directed at the cement cutdown on the queens side.
1. The water pools right at the bottom of the path now. It ran strait under the gate before as we went up and over the sidewalk. Now it pools right in the path. I willl assume that this is because the full re-surfaceing is not yet complete and this will be corrected.
2. The curb cutdown right where the path meets Cresent is metal. The front edge, where the concrete meets the asphalt. It is damn slippery when wet, and will cause issues to those with skinny tires.
Combining those two conditions makes for a hazard for those not expecting it.
Again, I don't know what the final bicycle traffic pattern is going to be but they are two things that I will be watching. I am still hoping for the PCM routing, that takes us strait off the bridge, and along the south side of the "pedestian mall" to meet with the exsisting north bound bike lanes.
All in all though, It looks a heck of a lot better then that big gate.