Bicycling

The Queens Boulevard Protected Bike Lane Celebration Ride

If Queens Boulevard can get a protected bike lane, you can probably put one on almost any street in the country.

By Clarence Eckerson Jr.

11:42 AM EDT on August 28, 2015

If Queens Boulevard can get a protected bike lane, you can probably put one on almost any street in the country.

Yesterday, the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee hosted the first of what it hopes are many celebratory bike rides down Queens Boulevard, trying out the first 10 blocks of the bike lane installed this month by NYC DOT. When complete, this project will run 1.3 miles from Roosevelt Avenue to 73rd Street. It’s the first phase in what the city has promised will be a thorough overhaul of the “Boulevard of Death,” which is also the most direct east-west route in the borough.

Over the years, many lives have been lost on Queens Boulevard. I spoke to riders yesterday about all the hard work that volunteers and advocates put it in to make this bike lane happen.

Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. has been running Streetfilms for two decades after serving as a producer of BikeTV. He loves the color purple, chocolate chip cookies, and enjoys walking, biking, and taking transit. He has never had a driver's license. But he does have an award from the U.N. (yes, that U.N.!)