Tonight: Kips Bay and Astoria Community Boards Consider Complete Streets

There are two community board meetings tonight on complete streets plans in Manhattan and Queens.

21st Street in Astoria and Long Island City could become friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians if CB 1 takes action. Photo: ##http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131008/long-island-city/transit-advocates-pushing-for-safety-improvements-for-busy-astoria-street?utm_content=stevsco%40gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Transit%20Advocates%20Pushing%20for%20Safety%20Improvements%20for%20Busy%20Astoria%20Street&utm_campaign=Transit%20Advocates%20Pushing%20for%20Safety%20Improvements%20for%20Busy%20Astoria%20Streetcontent##DNA##

The full board of Manhattan CB 6 is considering a resolution, passed by its transportation committee on Monday, to support a DOT plan to fill in a gap on the Second Avenue protected bike lane. Currently, the avenue from 23rd Street to 14th Street has a buffered bike lane, while sections to the north and south are protected by a lane of parked cars. DOT’s plan would remove a car travel lane and replace it with parking.

The public is invited to give brief comments to the full board tonight before it takes up the resolution. CB 6 has a history of slow progress on livable streets, so encouragement from users of the Second Avenue bike lane could help make the difference tonight. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. at 550 First Avenue.

In Astoria and Long Island City, Transportation Alternatives volunteers have been gathering signatures for a petition to Queens CB 1 asking the board to request a redesign of 21st Street to include shared lane markings for cyclists and safety improvements for pedestrians. If the board requests a redesign, DOT says it will consider it.

CB 1 has been downright hostile to livable streets in the past, so demonstrating local support for a complete streets design on 21st Street is important. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at 45-02 Ditmars Boulevard (the entrance is on the 46th Street side). If a resolution passes committee, it will go to the full board, which is scheduled to meet on October 15.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Tonight: Important Complete Streets Meetings in Manhattan and Queens

By Stephen Miller |
Tonight’s a big night for livable streets events, with community board meetings on proposals for Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, and Long Island City. Plus, join Streetsblog at ARTCRANK if you’re looking for some fun. Key community board meetings tonight are: Manhattan Community Board 2’s transportation committee will consider a resolution requesting that DOT […]

This Week: First Avenue Bikeway and UES Citi Bike Expansion

By Streetsblog |
Tonight, DOT will present plans to complete the First Avenue protected bikeway to the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 6. DOT installed sharrows from 49th Street and 59th Street, leaving a gap in the First Avenue protected lane, after CB 6 objected to the safer design four years ago. For this project to come to […]

This Week: MetroCard’s Future, Jamaica Bay Greenway, Move NY

By Streetsblog |
It’s a busy week for livable streets. Tuesday features a bevy of community meetings in Brooklyn, Wednesday continues with discussions of play streets, MTA fare payment technology, and Vision Zero in Astoria. Stand up for better bike and pedestrian routes in Manhattan and Queens on Thursday, and cap off the week with a discussion of […]

This Week: Speak Up for Safer Walking and Biking on Amsterdam

By Streetsblog |
Tomorrow, Manhattan Community Board 7 will vote on DOT’s plan for a protected bike lanes and pedestrian islands on Amsterdam Avenue from 72nd Street to 110th Street. Calming traffic on wide, one-way Amsterdam while providing a sorely needed northbound pair to the southbound Columbus Avenue bike lane has been a long time coming. Neighborhood residents have been […]