Lessons For San Francisco, From New York’s Queens Blvd.
Streetsblog points us to a story in the Times about a group of bikers who think that bikers belong even on the biggest, nastiest, most anti-human streets in the entirety of New York City — including one Queens Boulevard:
FROM the view at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge, it seemed like a formidable task. A group of about 20 helmeted cyclists gathered at the off-ramp on the Queens side of the bridge on a recent Friday evening, resolved to ride along a swath of Queens Boulevard, the vast, traffic-cramped roadway that extends eastward from near the bridge about seven miles, ending near the Van Wyck Expressway. The boulevard, which for much of the way is 12 car lanes wide, is known for its inhospitality to pedestrians and cyclists, and is called by many the Boulevard of Death.
There’s a lesson here, somewhere. Oh - here’s one:
Dave Kolick, 56, a Flushing resident whose bike sports pink neon lights, said he cycles a few times each week to his job near South Street Seaport as a computer programmer. He usually opts for more serene streets, though riding on Queens Boulevard, he estimated, would shave about a mile and half off his trip.
“I would love to take it,†Mr. Kolick said of the boulevard. “But the idea is to avoid getting hit.â€
Cyclists like to get places, too. Make the cars take the long way around.
If any of the streets in San Francisco can compare to Queens Boulevard for sheer mind-numbing audacity in its attempts to terrorize humans, I’m all ears.
So, there should be no reason why every single street, road, boulevard, highway, etc. in San Francisco should not be equipped with full pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Every. Single. One. Including and especially the biggest and baddest ones.
Yes - we want the bridges, too.
Leave comment (0)[p.s. The Forums are open for participation.]
