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Leaders Rally for Boulevard Of Death Bike Lane
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The white bike was placed at the scene where Asif Rahman was killed.
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By Noah C. Zuss
A still grieving mother has turned sorrow over her 22 year-old son’s death into political action.
After Asif Rahman was struck and killed by a driver in February, his mother, Lizi, turned her anger into action and is advocating for a bike lane to protect cyclists as they ride along Queens Boulevard.
Rahman doesn’t want others to worry about loved ones that bike across the borough and has enlisted the help of Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) in her quest.
Gennaro joined Rahman at a rally Sunday to draw attention to this issue as groups begin to lobby pols to build the political will for their cause.
Rahman knows her son will never casually arrive home again, as he did so many thousands of times, but she advocating for a lane on the busy street to protect others from experiencing the same pain and loss.
Asif was a young man just starting out in life. Filled with talent he hoped to become a music teacher. Tragically his life was cut short as he rode home from work from his job as a paraprofessional.
“We are not going to bring Asif back but if we can get a bike lane we can save others,” she said. “After he died I feel like bikers are part of my family, when I see them my heart goes out and I wish they would be careful, even though I don’t know them.”
Serious injuries and pedestrian deaths have been reduced by 30 to 40 percent over the last 10 years on the road, dubbed the “Boulevard of Death,” according to Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit pedestrian advocacy group.
“We have been working on Queens Boulevard for many years. There used to be 15 to 20 people killed every year. That number has been reduced substantially to about two or three per year.”
Though the dangers have been lessened, Norvell said, “despite how far we’ve come, there still is a lot of work to be done.”
Norvell and Transportation Alternatives are building support for inclusion of the lane on the boulevard, drumming up support in communities and alerting elected officials to the need and the real danger that exists.
Queens in general is not the most bike friendly of boroughs. It has fewer bike lanes than other parts of the city; they tend to be less continuous and therefore are not as useful.
The City Department of Transportation decides where the painted or protected lanes are put.
Groups like Transportation Alternatives, with help from Rahman are trying to create a critical mass and build the political will necessary to force the city to act.
A large part of this work is convincing members of the City Council to join the chorus. Gennaro’s office has written a letter to Mayor Bloomberg urging that action be taken to prevent future injury or death. Colleagues John Liu (D-Flushing) and Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) have supported the initiative and come onboard as co-signers.
The appeal reads in part, “The lack of dedicated bike lanes on Queens Boulevard leaves cyclists without a safe path to travel and leaves motorists and pedestrians without the adequate separation they need to avoid collisions as well. We have as a society protected pedestrians from motorists by building sidewalks, and have protected pedestrians further by banning bicyclists from those sidewalks.”
Officials at the Department of Transportation have said they are always studying ways to make city streets safer, but have no immediate plans to include a dedicated bike lane on Queens Boulevard.
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