Street safety advocates push back on judge's ruling to scrap protected bike lane in Astoria
ASTORIA, Queens (WABC) -- A judge has ruled on the battle over a bike lane in Queens, and those on the losing end of the gavel are not going quietly.
Cycling and street safety advocates took a chilly night ride on Tuesday, joining together to call on the city to appeal a judge's unusual ruling that it get rid of a protected bike lane already partially painted on busy 31st Street.
It's unusual, because with lawsuits against bike lane projects, judges tend to yield to the Department of Transportation.
"If it saves lives, it's worth doing. And all of the data, the evidence bears out this fact," said Councilmember Tiffany Caban.
This time, the judge agreed with businesses and a school that sued, claiming the redesign was rushed.
"The problem here is that they decided to have the cart lead the horse," said attorney Hartley Bernstein.
"Genuine street safety cannot be achieved through a haphazard cookie cutter approach that disregards legitimate concerns of people who live and work in this community," Joseph Mirabella, president of the 31stStreet Business Association.
On Tuesday morning, the plaintiffs applauded the decision.
"This is a huge victory for our school and our parents and everyone who has spoken out," said Adam Wittenstein, a faculty member at St. Demetrios School. "At the same time, the safety concerns that motivated this project are legitimate"
Both sides can agree the safety concerns are legitimate, and that it is a street that needs to be safer, and on Tuesday night, the groups that wanted the redesign point to data showing protected bike lanes are effective.
"I'm tired of schools opposing safety infrastructure that their own students would benefit from using," said Corey Hannigan of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. "I'm tired of restaurant owners screaming about parking when nearly all of their customers arrive on foot, bike or transit."
As parked cars already occupy the lane, advocates also point to a completed redesign on nearby 31st Avenue.
"We've seen it be a much safer environment. Businesses are doing great," said John Surico of 31stAvenue Open Street.
But 31st Street, right under the N and W train tracks, is clearly a little tricker.
The DOT issued a statement Tuesday night, saying "We are reviewing the decision and evaluating next steps."
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