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	April 22, 2008

This is the NYC.gov News You Requested for: "Bicycle Updates"

	NYCycles - The Official Newsletter of NYC DOT's Bike Program In this April edition of NYCycles, you'll find: - A (Left) Turn for Safety - Better Cycling Connections Coming to Brooklyn-Queens Shoreline - Know any Bicycle Friendly Businesses? - The 2008 NYC Cycling Map Has Arrived! - Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike In Every Issue: New Bike Routes Get A NYC Cycling Map And tools to make your ride safer and easier: Road and Bridge Closures Free Helmets Suggest a Bike Rack Report a Problem
	Quick Bit:	"While making the weekly mecca to the famed Union Square Farmers Market, this TreeHugger stumbled upon a suhweet street oasis: some fresh, clean, modern and user-friendly bicycle parking." NYC's sheltered bike parking gets national buzz at Treehugger.com.

	Photo: NC State DOT

		A (Left) Turn Towards Safety Bicycle lanes are great, but what happens when you have to make a left hand turn? There are two options for making the transition safely. Vehicular style turn: Scan in front and behind you, know what traffic conditions are like and where vehicles, other cyclists and pedestrians are in relation to you. Signal your intention to change lanes well in advance of the intersection. Move into the lane that leads to your destination. As a general rule, position yourself on the right side of a left turn lane, so that you can easily ride onto the right-hand side of the intersecting street. If the turning lane is narrow, ride in the middle of the lane to ensure you are visible to motorists. To traverse multiple lanes, move one at a time, scanning and signaling each move. Pedestrian style turn: Stay to the far right of the street. Stop at the far corner of the intersection near the crosswalk at the red light. Cross with the walk signal for pedestrians to the new street. In New York many bike lanes on one-way streets are on the left-hand side of the street to avoid conflict with bus routes. The same safety skills for making a left-hand turn from a right lane apply in reverse when you make a right-hand turn from the left-most lane. Whenever making a turn, signal your intentions and try to establish eye contact with motorists and pedestrians to ensure you are seen.
		Better Cycling Connections Coming to Brooklyn-Queens Shoreline Vernon Boulevard has long been a popular route for cyclists riding between Astoria, Long Island City, and the Pulaski Bridge which connects Queens and Brooklyn. The street, which runs parallel to the East River, cuts through what was largely an industrial landscape and was included in both the 1997 New York City Bicycle Master Plan and the Queens East River & North Shore Greenway Plan. Increased residential development along with a booming arts scene (fueled by institutions like PS1, the Noguchi Museum and the Socrates Sculpture Park) and parks redevelopment has led to an increased number of cyclists and pedestrians traveling along Vernon Boulevard. So the NYCDOT is pleased to announce that we will be creating a comprehensive set of improvements to this street to make it safer and more pleasant for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. This project has evolved over time with input from community members in Queens. NYCDOT will create a new buffered bike lane along Vernon Boulevard that will connect to the Pulaski Bridge at the southern end and eventually to bicycle lanes leading to the Triboro Bridge at the northern end. This will entail converting some parking spaces into travel lanes for bicycles. In the "downtown" portion of Hunter's Point where traffic already travels more slowly, and there is a thriving commercial district parking will be preserved and cyclists will have a shared-use route. The project will also create better connections to off-street greenway facilities and parks. Download the full project presentation. This project also includes new destination signs for cyclists. These signs, which DOT is installing on many heavily biked routes, alert cyclists to connections to major bicycle facilities and points of interest in the community, such as bridge paths, greenways and parks.
		Know any Bicycle Friendly Businesses? Nominate them for NYC's first ever Bicycle Friendly Businesses Awards. The goal of these awards is to raise awareness of best practices to promote the safety, health, and comfort of cyclists who ride to work and/or ride as part of their jobs. This May the NYC Department of Transportation and Transportation Alternatives will give awards to businesses in two categories as part of Bike Month NYC: Commuting Cyclists: businesses that take measures to encourage their employees to bike to work, including by providing indoor bicycle parking, offering bicycle education workshops, direct reimbursements to commuter cyclists for the purchase of safety equipment, casual dress days, etc. Working Cyclists: businesses that provide proper safety equipment and training to their working cyclists and whose employees ride lawfully and respectfully. Nominate any businesses worthy of awards via the Bike Month NYC website www.BikeMonthNYC.org by May 14. Winners will be announced at the end of May.
		The 2008 NYC Cycling Map Has Arrived! Each spring we get a very special delivery here at NYCDOT. Fresh updates of the NYC Cycling Map arrive by the boxful. We distribute the maps throughout the five boroughs at schools, colleges, universities, recreation centers, most major bike shops as well as at dozens of special events throughout the spring and summer. In addition to containing the updates of all of the new bike lanes and greenways, the map is also a valuable resource for bike safety information. This year's map contains new features that explain our new bike boxes and shows the locations of our first five sheltered bike parking facilities. Download a copy online, pick up one at a local bike shop or order one for FREE by calling 311.
		Teach Your Child To Ride A Bike Ready to toss the training wheels? Take your kids to a free Bike New York class to learn the basics of biking in a safe, social setting. Best of all there's no running behind the bike, strained backs, scraped knees, or frayed nerves. Last year, more than 600 kids and their parents learned this method, and the program received the 2007 Best of Parks Partnership Award. Classes listed below are offered in association with City of New York Parks & Recreation. WHO: Children with their parents. Bikes and helmets required. Pre-register at http://www.bikenewyork.org/education/classes/teach_child.html. WHEN/WHERE: Saturday, April 19, 1-3 PM Indoors at George Cromwell Recreation Center (Pier 6 at Murray Hulbert Avenue, near Bay Street and Hannah Street), Staten Island. While supplies last, DOT staff will distribute free NYC bike helmets. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to receive helmets. Saturday, April 26, 11 AM-3 PM Rainey Park (Vernon Boulevard and 34th Avenue), Astoria, Queens. Held as part of the Earth Day celebration in the park; hosted by Partnership for Parks and the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee. While supplies last, DOT staff will distribute free NYC bike helmets. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to receive helmets. Saturday, May 3, 10 AM-1 PM - North Rochdale Playground (Baisley Boulevard and Bedell Street), Queens - St. Nicholas Park (135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue), Manhattan - McCarren Park (Nassau Avenue, Bayard, Leonard and North 12 Streets), Brooklyn - Midland Beach (parking lot at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Father Capodanno Boulevard), Staten Island Saturday, May 10, 10 AM-1 PM - Bayswater Park (Beach Channel Drive, 32nd Street, Dwight and Norton Avenues), Queens - J. J. Byrne Park (Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue), Brooklyn - Midland Beach (parking lot at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Father Capodanno Boulevard), Staten Island Saturday, May 17, 10 AM-1 PM - Admiral Park (Little Neck Parkway and 42nd Avenue), Queens - Madison Square Park (23rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues), Manhattan - Crispus Attucks Park (Fulton Street and Classon Avenue), Brooklyn. While supplies last, DOT staff will distribute free NYC bike helmets. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to receive helmets. - Van Cortlandt Stadium (Broadway between West 242nd Street and Putnam Trail), Bronx Saturday, May 24, 10 AM-1 PM - Highland Park ( Jamaica Avenue and Elton Street), Queens - Columbus Park (Mulberry and Baxter Streets, near the Pavilion at Bayard Street), Manhattan - Carroll Park (Court and Smith Streets), Brooklyn - Crotona Park/Boxcar Playground (Suburban and Charlotte Streets, adjacent to Crotona Park Lake), Bronx Saturday, May 31, 10 AM-1 PM Inwood Hill Nature Center (218th Street and Indian Road), Manhattan
		New Bicycle Routes The DOT Bicycle Program installed over 60 new lane miles of bicycle routes in 2007. Track our progress and see upcoming projects here.
		Get Your 2008 NYC Cycling Map Get your copy of the Departments of Transportation, City Planning and Parks' 2008 NYC Cycling Map. The map includes bike lanes, routes, greenways, parks, bike shops and subway stations in all five boroughs. The map also shows bike rental locations. Download a copy online, pick up one at a local bike shop or order one for FREE by calling 311.
		Road and Bridge Closures For information about street closures, sign up for weekly traffic advisories: http://www.nyc.gov/dotnews
		Free Helmets The DOT has distributed over 10,000 official NYC bicycle helmets for free to New York City residents. You can schedule a time to get fitted for an NYC helmet at one of the DOT's Safety Cities by calling 311. This spring DOT staff will also be fitting and distributing helmets at a number of special events throughout the five boroughs. In addition to the ones listed above we have the following upcoming fitting events. Call 212-839-2200 for more information. Sunday, April 27, 12-4 PM 150th Anniversary of Central Park Bicycle Helmet fitting/distribution and bike safety information Central Park Bandshell, mid-park @ 72nd Street, New York, NY NYCDOT, NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Central Park Conservancy Saturday, May 3, 12-4 PM Earth Day event for families Bicycle Helmet fitting/distribution and bike safety information Rockaway Beach Boardwalk @ B. 28th Street, Queens, NY NYCDOT, NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Rockaway Waterfront Alliance Saturday, May 17, 11 AM-2 PM�� Bike Safety Day Bicycle Helmet fitting/distribution and bike safety information New York City Police Museum 100 Old Slip, New York, NY 10005 NYCDOT, NYPD Saturday, May 31, 12-4 PM Governor's Island Family Festival Bicycle Helmet fitting/distribution and bike safety information Governor's Island, NY Borough - Manhattan DOT, GIPEC Saturday, May 31, 1-4 PM Recycle-A-Bicycle DUMBO Family Bike Safety Day Bicycle Helmet fitting/distribution and bike safety information DUMBO Business District @ Pearl Street, Brooklyn, NY DOT, Recycle-A-Bicycle, Bike New York
		Suggest a Bike Rack Do you live or work somewhere that could benefit from secure bike parking? NYCDOT is working with Community Boards to identify strategic areas to install clusters of new bike parking, including at transit stations, along commercial corridors and at other major community destinations. Suggest an area that needs bike parking, or contact your Community Board to create a group request.
		Report a Problem or Send Kudos Potholes: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/pothole.shtml Street Construction Hazards: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/permits/hiqaform.shtml Missing or Broken Street Signs: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/signs/trafsign.shtml Report a faded or damaged bike lane: Call 311 Other Complaints and Compliments: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildot.html or call 311
		Street Smart Cycling: Signal all turns and stops ahead of time. Look over your shoulder for any traffic, then make your intended move only when it is safe to do so.
		Quick Tip: Bike Month is just around the corner, visit www.BikeMonthNYC.org for a full calendar of great events throughout the month of May.
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