WOODSIDE — The city is planning to add a bike lane along the length of 31st Avenue in western Queens, spanning from the Astoria waterfront through Woodside, East Elmhurst and ending at the Flushing Bay Promenade.
Community Boards 1 and 3 both voted in favor of the proposal in the past, but CB1 recommended this week that the Department of Transportation add a detour to the route that would bypass a stretch of five blocks in Woodside, an area it deemed unsafe for cyclists because of heavy traffic and double-parked cars there.
DNAinfo readers who weighed in on Neighborhood Square were nearly unanimously in favor of a 31st Avenue bike lane.
► "This particular route is a good choice of avenues and is long enough and direct/straight enough to be quite useful to recreational, fitness, and commuter bicyclists," user mark-victor-smith wrote.
► "Great plan and super ride. Cannot wait until this is a reality!" mk-moore wrote.
Several readers disagreed with CB1's push for a detour to 32nd Avenue between 55th and 60th streets — echoing concerns from cycling advocates who say forcing riders to turn off 31st Avenue would be more dangerous than traffic on the street.
► "Painting a bike lane so that it 'sends' cyclists on a time-consuming and (as noted) more dangerous detour is beyond pointless," Neighborhood Square user simonphearson said.
"Cyclists would just barrel on through the area anyway, only without protection - per the CB mandate. It just helps to show how clueless CB members are when it comes to bike infrastructure," he or she continued. "If a stretch of road is 'too dangerous' for cyclists, that's a very strong indication of where exactly to put bike infrastructure."
Others said that the solution should be better enforcement of cars that are double-parking and breaking the rules, rather than diverting cyclists away from the trouble spots.
► "If drivers of motor vehicles are creating a dangerous situation, then confront that situation; do not bend over backwards to accommodate that condition," user wjfarr wrote.
► "Maybe we should tell people not to double-park there instead of telling people not to bike there," hessmatthias wrote.
