With cyclist fatalities on the rise, a City Councilman from Queens wants to blanket Long Island City with protected bike lanes — a proposal that could likely cost the neighborhood hundreds of parking spots.
“We have got to understand that this is about saving lives and we have to act now,” Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer told reporters at the foot of the Pulaski Bridge on Wednesday morning.
“We have to prioritize people’s lives over parking spaces and over cars, once and for all in this city.”
Under the proposal developed by Van Bramer and cycling advocates from Transportation Alternatives and Bike New York, Long Island City would be a testing zone for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $58.4 million “Green Wave” plan to increase the number of new protected bike lane miles each year by 50%.
The proposed lanes would go on Skillman Avenue, Jackson Avenue, 11th Street, Center Boulevard, 44th Drive, 46th Avenue, 48th Avenue and Borden Avenue — the street where a driver struck and killed Robert Spencer in March.
Vernon Boulevard’s protected bike lane, meanwhile, which currently ends at 46th Avenue, would be extended south to Borden.
The 5 miles of new bike lanes would likely require the removal of dozens, if not hundreds, of parking spots, as is typical of such redesign projects — garnering mixed reactions from neighborhood residents.
“Driving through this area is already bad. There’s really no space for a bike lane,” 28-year-old Long Island City resident Jelani Ochoa told The Post while looking for a parking spot on Vernon Boulevard. “Traffic is bad as it is — this is just gonna make it worse.”
“I’m all for a protected bike lane,” said his 33-year-old neighbor Andrew Markese. “The traffic, the parking in this area is already pretty bad.”
Van Bramer is expected to run for Queens borough president if incumbent Melinda Katz is elected district attorney in November.
Additional reporting by Ruth Weissmann