Comments

  • Sounds fun. Thanks for all the info. My husband and I just signed up for the 5 boro bike tour. I would love to ride in Brooklyn and Queens and explore the neighborhoods more. And, I’m especially interested in the ones where there’s food involved.

    Posted by fhonmymind
    on March 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am

  • FYI, with regards to the Rockaway Beach Branch, we are working on a Greenway, and TA has been a great resource. I had asked previously if folks were interested, especially those from FH as there is a small but vocal contingent on the Community Board who are opposed to it. I did get one response, who called the CB9 office but the number I got had no message available. If that person wants to recall the office, or anyone else interested in supporting this great effort, please call 718-286-2686 and tell them that you would like to leave contact information for the Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway project!

    Posted by KGResident
    on March 24th, 2008 at 11:53 am

  • KGresident - I was the person who was interested a few months ago. I did call the CB9 office, but the new receptionist didn’t know much about it, and I hit a dead end. I will call the number you provided again.

    Does anyone know folks in CB6 who are supporting/opposed to the Rockaway Branch Greenway?

    Posted by Mickie T
    on March 24th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

  • Yes, please call again and if you can leave an e-mail. I have instructed the staff, again, to take all contact information. We are in the stage of producing a brochure to illustrate what the greenway would look like and what it would encompass!

    Posted by KGResident
    on March 25th, 2008 at 9:40 am

  • timely post! i just bought a sweet mountain bike on sunday from spin city on QB and Ascan. jimmy is the owner and a really nice guy. if you’re in the market for a bike, shop local!

    Posted by sloe-eyed
    on March 25th, 2008 at 1:11 pm

  • […] Gaining Currency Among Developers (WSJ, preview only)Planning for First Tour de Queens Is Underway (Queens Central) Filed by Ben Fried under Today’s Headlines Link Digg This Email […]

    Posted by Streetsblog » Today’s Headlines
    on March 26th, 2008 at 9:05 am

  • The Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee had a fundraiser for the ride. A roller race! Check out this video and sign up for the ride!
    http://www.streetfilms.org/arc.....or-queens/

    Posted by streetfilms
    on March 26th, 2008 at 10:10 am

  • You are so right on. Great read, great article. Thanks. Yes, TAQC wishes to know more of Central and East Queens. It’s why the first TdQ is starting in Central Queens, goes east and loops back to Central Queens. Queenszies, I like that.

    LIC Resident

    Posted by Emmanuel
    on March 29th, 2008 at 7:01 am

  • I wouldn’t shed a tear for Eastern Queens cycling, but would for Western Queens. You have nothing to boo-hoo about.

    I ride the whole borough, every week, at least twice, west to east and back, 30 miles on each of those rides, and can say there is plenty of cycling in Eastern Queens with its wealth of long, uninterruped greenway and the excellent mountain bike trails at Cunninham Park just to name a bit. In Eastern Queens, you can actually do serious cycling, long distance, and at high speeds. In the west of Queens, what have we got besides a few short stretches of bicycle lanes mistaken for double-parking areas with traffic lights and busy crossroads.

    It’s easy to suggest where to ride in Eastern Queens because there are so many places and such variety literally reserved for cycling 24/7, but in Western Queens you would be at a loss to fine a continuous twenty miles to ride on sanctioned road and/or dirt.

    If the TdQ committee doesn’t take something seriously enough, it’s the sport of cycling, but they certainly know their destinations.

    Posted by thielonwheels
    on April 22nd, 2008 at 1:33 pm

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Saddle up, get greased! This is how Central Queens rolls.

Posted by Mickie T on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

If you’re interested in bicycling, or bringing more fame to central Queens nabes, or both, I highly recommend checking out the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee. It’s been around for about a year, and I just went to my first meeting earlier this month.

The TAQC meets the 2nd Monday from 6:30p-8p each month (unless otherwise noted) at the Greater Astoria Historical Society located at 35-20 Broadway, 4th floor - the Quinn Funeral Home building. The next TAQC meeting is April 14th.

The committee is full of very nice people working on some great projects, most notably the very first Tour de Queens! There are already bicycling events in two other outer-bees: Tour de Brooklyn (which I did last year) and a Tour de Bronx.

The Tour de Queens is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, 2008, and is still in the planning stages, so volunteers are welcome. You can register for it, too! The next planning meeting is March 26th at the location above. The route is approx 20 miles, beginning and ending at the Queens Museum, in front of the Unisphere in Flushing Meadow Park.

One area ripe for improvement in the TAQC, though, is its narrow focus on Western Queens. In fact, its original name was the Transportation Alternatives Western Queens Committee. The group is a lovely bunch of folk, but they need a little education about Queens east of Steinway Street.

For example, when, in the course of a discussion, I mentioned “the Union Turnpike station,” the general response was “where’s that?”

“Um, it’s at Union Turnpike at Queens Boulevard.”

Someone was helpful enough to “correct” me and add, “I believe that’s actually called the Kew Gardens station.”

Yeah, whatever. The point is that these Queenzies don’t know their 73rd Street from their 73rd Avenue. So, if you’re into bicycling, come to a meeting or two and make sure central Queens is on the map!

On the other hand, the Five Borough Bike Club offers lovely rides throughout Queens on a regular basis. Again, a nice bunch of people and their rides range from “smiley face” easy to “up with the roosters” competitive. Not to mention that most of their rides involve riding to FOOD! Our kind of people!

We rode with them alongside the abandoned Rockaway Branch Conrail Extension tracks from Rego Park to Ozone Park, which is ripe for a “rail-to-trail” conversion to a greenway, like the Highline in Manhattan. A fascinating ride.

You don’t have to be a member to join the rides, but membership allows you to get the newsletter, website access and other perqs.

By the way, I highly recommend bicycling around town! As you may know from reading my forum posts, my spouse and I enjoy bicycling around the city. We’re total amateurs, not the types with giant calves and bikes made out of aluminum foil. After 3 or 4 years of casual biking, we crossed a threshold in our confidence and endurance last summer, did 35 miles of the NY Century Ride, and spent many weekends biking to and from our place in FH through Queens into Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Queens presents a lot of challenges for the casual weekend cyclist, but we have found that so much of Queens opens up to you on the bike. Riding over the Queensborough Bridge or the Pulaski Bridge provide great views and new perspectives. And it’s much less crowded and cheaper than the gym!