Marching With a Message: Fix the Missing Link in Queens’ Most Important Bike Route

The St. Pats for All Parade is a wonderful, upbeat celebration of inclusion on Skillman Avenue in Woodside, Queens. The Queens Committee of Transportation Alternatives participated since the parade's inception, and this year, they marched to renew their call for protected bike lanes on Skillman and 43rd Avenue.

The two streets are an important bicycle link to the Queensboro Bridge, but they're not safe. Last year, a driver struck and killed Gelacio Reyes as he biked home on 43rd Avenue from his delivery job in Manhattan. There's a DOT plan on the table to upgrade Skillman and 43rd with protected bike lanes, but momentum has stalled since it was first presented last fall.

With these protected bike lanes in the place, there would be a safe bicycle route connecting many neighborhoods along Queens Boulevard to the bridge. Queens residents are calling on Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer to advance the project.

The contingent of nearly 50 people marching for a safer Skillman and 43rd Avenue was one of the biggest of the 90 groups in the parade, getting lots of cheers and good vibes from the crowd.