Queens

Several surveys this year by top polling organizations have found citywide support for bike lanes. And in Park Slope and the Upper West Side, questionnaires put out by local elected officials have shown consistent neighborhood-level approval for new bike infrastructure. Now, another member of the City Council has found widespread enthusiasm for the city's bike lane program among his constituents -- and he doesn't represent the heart of the NYC bike belt.

The Department of City Planning's commitment to rezoning the city along more transit-oriented lines is a critical component of its sustainability agenda. Allowing more people to live and work next to transit means more people will ride transit and fewer will drive.

Clarence sends along a few more shots from the beginning of construction season. These come from Queens Plaza, where the two-way bike approach to the Queensboro Bridge is extending eastward.

At the foot of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, DOT is showing off how a few simple improvements can turn a dangerous intersection into a safer one. It's not a flashy redesign -- just a pair of pedestrian refuges and improved crosswalks -- but it's a good example of the street safety improvements that are becoming increasingly common.

This morning, the Bloomberg Administration announced the developer for the first phase of Hunter's Point South, a Long Island City project the city is billing as the largest middle-class housing project since Co-Op City and Starrett City went up in the 1970s. A team led by the Related Companies will be developing the first 900 units at what will eventually be a 5,000-unit complex along the East River.

Since 2009, the Department of Transportation has been engaged in a major study of Jackson Heights' streets and sidewalks. At the request of community groups and with federal funding from Rep. Joe Crowley, DOT has been developing a plan to make the neighborhood safer, less congested, and more transit-accessible. After two years of research and community engagement, DOT will be presenting its first recommendations next Saturday, February 12.

Separate crashes in the past 48 hours have critically injured two New York City pedestrians.

We've got another highlight from 2010 construction season to share with you. A two-way, protected approach to the Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge bike-ped path has been paved, striped and open for business since the end of October.

A driver hit and killed a three-year-old child in Queens at around 4 p.m. today, according to the NYPD. Streetsblog first learned of the fatal collision via a Twitter report which said the child was struck at the intersection of 89th Road and 211th Street in Hollis. The NYPD's public information department can't confirm that information or any other details yet.