There's nothing particularly noteworthy about this CBS 2 feature on the plan to extend the bike lanes on Queens Boulevard. And that's what makes it noteworthy.
With shots of the street where lanes now exist, reporter Sonia Rincon begins the piece like so: "The DOT is reshaping the landscape of one of the most dangerous roads in the city." No quick-cut shots intended to invoke mass panic, no Marcia Kramer-style indignation over the prospect of sharing street space with people who aren't in cars. Just a simple statement of fact.
Rincon spoke with City Council Member Danny Dromm, who explains how adding space for bikes helps slow motorists down, making the street safer.
And get this: Rincon talked with people who ride bikes on Queens Boulevard as part of their day to day lives -- people who are grateful that Mayor de Blasio instructed DOT to proceed with phase two of the bike lane project despite Community Board 4 failing to support it.
"Right now I'm going to work, while biking," said Melody Santos, who indicated she did not ride to work before DOT installed the existing 1.3-mile bike lane segment on Queens Boulevard in Woodside.
Rincon does devote airtime to random quotes from a couple of people who don't care for cyclists, and to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who repeats her specious argument that the project should be brought before the Queens Borough Board. Otherwise, Katz claims, making Queens Boulevard safer for people who walk and bike will "cause great difficulties."
But Rincon closes with Dromm, who notes that the responsibility for engineering safer streets lies with DOT. Anchor Maurice DuBois even wraps the segment by citing Queens Boulevard crash data.
About what you would expect, right? But compared to the fact-free sensationalist screeching New Yorkers were subjected to during the bikelash era, it's practically a revelation.
