The Queens Plaza Protected Bike Path Is Open for Business

Using a bike to get between Queens and Manhattan just got safer and easier.

Yesterday afternoon, Streetfilms got tips from fans saying the physically protected bike and pedestrian path at Queens Plaza, which runs between Vernon Boulevard and Northern Boulevard, was finally open. By the time we got there, scores of folks were already taking advantage — many with big, hearty smiles when they saw the finished path. We’ve tried to give you the full experience from as many angles as possible during this nearly half-mile journey, the newest protected bike facility in New York City.

Amazingly, what used to be one of the most congested, noisy, chaotic and ugly spots in the city — a big parking lot, basically — now feels like an oasis of green. Dare we even say, it’s pleasant! Now cyclists have a safe, direct route to and from the bridge, and the new design also gets rid of dangerous wrong-way riding by finally accommodating cyclists’ desire to travel east.