Biking Way Up on Redesigned Queens Boulevard, Cyclist Injuries Down

In the year after NYC DOT installed protected bike lanes and other safety measures between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street in Woodside, pedestrian and cyclist injuries declined more than 40 percent, according to data DOT presented to the Queens Community Board 6 transportation committee last night [PDF]. Total crashes causing injury, including to car occupants, declined 9 percent.

At the same time, DOT counts show the number of people biking on the corridor has doubled, according to a DOT spokesperson.

DOT installed the first phase of safety improvements on 1.2 miles of Queens Boulevard in Woodside. Since that section was completed in the summer of 2015, pedestrian injuries dropped 49 percent and cyclist injuries fell 42 percent compared to the three-year average before the redesign.

Pedestrians and cyclists accounted for all of the injury reduction in the project area. With car occupant injuries rising 9 percent, total injuries declined.

The data doesn't include information on injury severity, but another sign of success is that no people have been killed on the street once dubbed "The Boulevard of Death" since the city began redesigning it. Seven motor vehicle occupants were killed in crashes on Queens Boulevard between 2010 and 2013.

DOT installed the second phase of the project this past summer between 74th Street and Eliot Avenue. Next week, the city will host its first public workshop on phase three, which will run from Eliot Avenue to Yellowstone Boulevard.

Queens street safety advocates are hoping for a big turnout at the workshop, which begins at 6 p.m. at P.S. 139 in Rego Park.

Update: This post has been amended to accurately reflect the increase in people biking on the corridor.