Before they do, DOT should update its design to fortify the bike lane and protect people from reckless drivers like the one here.
In this clip caught by Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson Jr., a truck driver backs down the bike lane near Albion Avenue in Elmhurst, putting people at serious risk in the process.
Clarence said the truck driver flattened the plastic flex-posts that delineate the bike lane along the way.
Streetfilms (923 videos!)@Streetfilms
Please @NYC_DOT when you fully redesign Queens Blvd don’t use mountable curbs. This truck BACKED UP about 100 feet in the bike lane running over bollards and putting #bikenyc in mega danger. @TransAlt@StreetsblogNYC
As much as the Queens Boulevard bike lane has reduced crashes and injuries (which is a lot), it’s not perfect. Incursions into bike lane aren’t rare. Local car dealers have been known to use it to store inventory.
But DOT’s design for the Queens Boulevard capital project calls for placing the bike lane on a mountable curb, which would do little to prevent incidents like this trucker chugging down the bike lane in a massive oversized vehicle. Work is scheduled to begin next year, according to DOT.
The design for the Queens Boulevard capital project calls for no protection besides a mountable curb. Image: DOT
There are better ways to keep drivers out of the Queens Boulevard bike lanes. The bike lane could be protected by a full vertical curb, for instance, like on Allen Street in Manhattan.
However DOT chooses to do it, keeping cyclists safe from idiots like this guy demands more than a mountable curb.
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.