DOT hosts public workshop on protected bike lanes

Last night, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) hosted a public workshop on Astoria’s bike network and the possibility of adding more protected bike lanes.

The workshop took place at PS 166, and featured Councilmen Costa Constantinides and Jimmy Van Bramer.

Among the topics that were discussed were bicycle route network planning, traffic calming strategies and hearing community feedback.

The idea isn’t exactly new. In October, bike advocates pitched installing a protected bike lane along Crescent Street, a corridor that runs north-south from north Astoria down to the Queensboro Bridge.

Cyclists have said Crescent Street often feels more like a highway than a residential road, given the amount of car traffic it attracts.

The pitch last year was met with chilly reception from some longtime Astoria residents, who called it a “terrible” idea.

Read more about what kind of reception the DOT workshop had in next week’s Long Island City/Astoria Journal newspaper.