I think that with the present price of gas and with the City's antiquated transportation system, we should be looking into all possible alternatives to rid personal vehicles from our streets.
Here in Queens unless you're traveling to Manhattan the public transportation system can be impossible to navigate or get where you're going. There is a dearth of cross-borough busses and all of the train lines are geared to deliver riders in and out of Manhattan. Parking in our neighborhoods is intolerable and the traffic on the roads is insufferable. I've seen many a bike rider pass cars stuck in our frequent traffic jams and get to their destination well ahead of the gas-guzzling autos.
As a City and a nation we should be doing all we can to break our dependence on oil from the Middle East. I feel this dependence is damaging our quality of life here in America. It also has our soldiers fighting wars in far flung countries in pursuit of oil for large multi-national energy conglomerates in the guise of bringing freedom to the area.
It is for these reasons and many others that I support the building of bike lanes in Queens and throughout the City.
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The New York City Street Memorial Project volunteers hoist their bikes in a tribute to Asif Rahman, who was killed while riding his bike on Queens Boulevard. (Jillian Abbott)
At a memorial service for Asif Rahman, 22, who was killed while riding his bike on Queens Boulevard last February, his family called for a bike lane to be built on the dangerous thoroughfare.
They were joined by members of ghost bikes.org and volunteers with the New York City Street Memorial Project at the scene of the accident that left Rahman dead.
The contingent of cyclist had met up on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge and rode in a convoy to the tribute.
A white bike was chained to a parking sign post at the scene as a permanent memorial to Rahman, who was hit by a truck just after 3 p.m. on Feb. 28.
This ceremony is part of a series being held at the site of every fatal accident in the city involving a cyclist. Since 2005, 42 white bikes have been placed around the city, where, according to ghostbikes.org, one pedestrian a week is killed. Each speaker expressed the hope that they wouldn’t need to hold another event like this one.
Ghostbikes.org members also called for a bike lane on Queens Boulevard, saying that safety was paramount to cyclists which brought many benefits to their riders, such as saving money and providing physical exercise. Bikes also benefit the city through less motor vehicle congestion, and help the environment by not generating air and noise pollution.
Family and friends took turns paying tribute to Rahman, who they referred to as the metaphysical lyrical wizard because he was a poet and hip hop artist.
One mourner, Daniel Nanasi, who had made a documentary about Rahman before he died, traveled from Texas to be at the memorial.
Other speakers included Rahman’s mother Lizi Rahman, his younger brother, Nafees and several friends from Queens College.
Ghostbikes.org creates the white bike memorial ceremonies so that those who die in bike accidents will be remembered as real people, not just statistics.
Each speaker joined Rahman’s mother in calling for a bike lane to be added to the busy thoroughfare, known locally as the Boulevard of Death because of the high number of fatal accidents occurring there.
The Queens Chronicle is interested in hearing readers’ views on the question: Should the city build a bicycle lane on Queens Boulevard?
Send your answers to Mailbox@qchron.com.
