In March 2022, our organization was first made aware of the NYC Department of Transportation’s plan to extend its bikeshare program further into Queens Community Board 5. DOT had made a presentation to the Transportation Committee of CB5 but the board failed to notify any civic or community organizations. By the time we became informed of the plan, the public comment period had closed. Council Member Holden requested that the DOT visit each civic and explain their plan and obtain feedback, however, DOT only agreed to meet with civic leaders and extend the public comment period until April 30th.

We reviewed the proposed locations and found that the plan favored placing the bike docks in roadbeds rather than on sidewalks. This is problematic because our area is mostly a transit desert without subway service and most households therefore own cars, making parking scarce. We decided to review and offer a counter proposal for the identified roadbed locations, in consultation with civic representatives of other affected communities. The civic leaders met with DOT on April 6th and presented a plan drawn up by JPCA Secretary Christina Wilkinson based on the DOT’s bikeshare siting guidelines.

General Comments Presented To DOT:
• Maspeth, Glendale, and Middle Village are low-rise communities where most home- owners and tenants who so desire already own bikes and have storage for them. These communities have reduced demand for bike- share as compared to areas where the service has already been installed.
• The regular destinations of people living here, such as Queens Blvd or Woodhaven Blvd, as well as the other half of CB5, do not yet have CitiBike docks installed. The inability to dock the bikes at popular destinations reduces the program’s usefulness. It would be more strategic to have CitiBike installed boroughwide along major commercial corridors before focusing on residential area placement.
• In the proposed plan, the stations are too close together and there are too many of them considering the low-density nature of the area. As a result of the MTA’s Queens Bus Network Redesign eliminating many bus stops in our area, we will soon be expected to walk further to board buses. Bikeshare stations – accessed only by able-bodied people – should likewise be spaced further than two blocks apart.
• The proposed number of docks and overall length of each station have not been revealed. The standard dock modules come in multiples of four with the angled module containing three docks. The kiosk module has three docks attached to it. Stations containing a total of seven to nine docks would be about the right length to serve demand throughout most of the targeted area. In denser areas, such as parts of Ridgewood, more docks can be added where space allows.
• For efficient use of sidewalk space, the angled bike docks would be ideal. This narrows the width needed from six feet to about four-and-a-half feet.
• Our area is the first “transit desert” where CitiBike is being installed and requires a unique strategy. Parking concerns must be addressed. In addition to this, roadbed docks prevent adequate street cleaning. We developed a proposal that eliminates roadbed docks to preserve parking and facilitate cleaning.
• Should any of our proposed sites not be feasible, we would appreciate being notified so we can propose alternate locations.
• After six months, usage statistics should be analyzed, with underutilized stations targeted for removal.
We are now awaiting a response from DOT on our plan as well as the feedback they received from the public.

Our proposal accommodates the needs of everyone: cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.

To review DOT’s bikeshare plan, visit
nycdotbikeshare.info/maps_plans#queens

To review JPCA’s bikeshare plan, visit
www.scribd.com/document/565783923/Bike-Share-Proposal