For nearly two miles along Vernon Boulevard, stretching from Long Island City into Astoria, runners, walkers and cyclists took over the roadway Saturday as the city’s Summer Streets program returned to Queens.
The annual initiative temporarily closes select streets to vehicle traffic, giving New Yorkers space to exercise, commute and recreate.
What You Need To Know
Summer Streets transformed nearly two miles of Vernon Boulevard into a car-free corridor for runners, walkers and cyclists on Saturday
DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said the city is considering expanding the program and is asking New Yorkers for feedback
Flynn defended bike lane projects after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for reducing federal funding for them
Summer Streets heads to Manhattan on Aug. 1, 8 and 15, followed by Brooklyn and the Bronx on Aug. 22
Richard, a Queens native, said the event offers a rare opportunity to run without worrying about traffic.
“Places where you can run around, not having to worry about, ‘Am I going to run into a car or not?’ That’s a big concern for a lot of us. Obviously not all year long, but maybe just a week — kind of like today,” he told NY1.
New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said the agency is looking ahead to the future of the Summer Streets program and is seeking public feedback on how it could evolve.
“Should it evolve? Should it be bigger? Should it look different? I think we really want to hear from New Yorkers about that,” Flynn said.
He acknowledged that expanding the program comes with challenges and said officials continue to adjust routes based on community input.
“We always listen to the feedback. Like I just got here from Staten Island, and last year we had it on a different street, and we got some pretty helpful feedback from businesses there. So we relocated it. It’s a balancing act,” Flynn said.
Flynn also responded to comments made this week by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who argued that bike lanes contribute to increased traffic congestion and urged Congress to reduce federal funding for such projects.
“The data is clear that bike lane projects not only help cyclists, but they improve safety for everybody on the road. I think that that is not up for debate,” Flynn said, defending the city’s investment in bike infrastructure.
He acknowledged that changes to federal funding could affect future projects but said New York City relies relatively little on federal dollars for its bike lane program.
“If the federal government decides certain things aren’t eligible for federal funding, we’ll have to work with that,” Flynn said. “The good thing is that in New York, it’s not a huge share of our program that’s federally funded.”
The Summer Streets program continues in Manhattan on Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15, before expanding to Brooklyn and the Bronx on Aug. 22.