Astoria's partially installed 31st Street protected bike lane is in danger of being pushed off until next year because a Queens judge has yet to rule in a lawsuit against the plan as the end of the so-called painting season approaches.
The city Department of Transportation does not lay down paint when the temps drop below 40 degrees. The agency began installing the 31st Street protected bike lane back in the summer — before halting work after opponents sued, and Queens Judge Cheree Buggs halted work on the project pending her ruling.
As a result, the roadway is a confusing mess featuring a protected bike lane on one side of 31st Street between Broadway and 30th Avenue that isn't technically in effect. As a result drivers mostly leave the future bike lane clear on the east side of the street between Broadway and 31st Avenue, but have turned the block between 31st and 30th avenues into a default double-parking lane: Drivers are parking along the curb and in the offset parking lane DOT painted over the summer.
For much of the remainder of the project area — from 36th Avenue to Newtown Avenue — DOT has stenciled but not painted the markings for the future bike lane.
"If there was a way to make 31st Street even more dangerous than what it was, it’s what you have now: three lanes of parking on some stretches and a lack of clarity for drivers and cyclists," said John Surico, an Astoria resident and organizer of the nearby 31st Avenue open street.
A staffer who answered the phone at Buggs's chambers said the judge does not comment on pending litigation but emphasized that her decision need only come before Dec. 5 — typically well after the DOT has suspended painting operations for the year.
DOT's redesign is supposed to put a parking protected bike lane on each side of 31st Street, the spine of the neighborhood underneath the elevated N/W subway train. A similar redesign of White Plains Road in the Bronx yielded a 41-percent drop in injuries to motor vehicle occupants and 10-percent decrease in overall injuries from traffic crashes, according to DOT.
"We’re quite disappointed that this lawsuit has hamstrung a redesign we know would save lives," Surico said. "It’s a really dangerous situation. That being said, there’s very few moments when all the cars are parked correctly and you get to see a glimpse of what this project will do for the street."
Lawsuits against DOT bike lane projects never succeed other than to stall the inevitable — judges have repeatedly ruled that the city has the power to redesign streets as it sees fit.
DOT declined to comment. Council Member Tiffany Caban (D-Astoria) told Streetsblog that she hoped the city could finish the project before the end of 2025.
"This corridor is one of the most dangerous in Queens, and the confusion with the project being partially completed is only making it worse," Caban said in a statement. "Full implementing the project will make the road safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike."
