See Queens, Shop in Queens — on Your Bike

Last week the Department of City Planning released the “Queens Around the World Guide,” a map to help cyclists see the sights, sample the cuisine, and frequent the merchants of the city’s biggest borough.

The Queens guide subtly delivers the message that attracting cyclists means attracting business — a nice little counterpoint to those who demonize bike lanes as a drag on retailers. As the DCP press release says, the map points out “many opportunities for riders to park their bikes and walk around the unique neighborhoods and shopping districts” of the borough. Which raises the prospect of a good companion project: How about a few bike corrals along the route? The potential to boost foot traffic is rather impressive when you consider that each on-street spot for car parking could turn into a dozen or so slots for bike parking.

DCP will be distributing the maps to local bike shops. For now, you can find it online. Maps for other boroughs are in the works, with the Bronx coming up next.