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CRESCENT STREET BIKE LANE Philosophy of Infrastructure,
Spring 2022
Alexa Jakob
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ASTORIA, QUEENS
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ASTORIA, QUEENS: A DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOOD
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CRESCENT STREET: A CENTRAL ARTERY
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OVERVIEW
I. Bike Lanes as Network
II. Role of Bike Lanes in Street Safety
III. Bike Lanes as Gentrification Harbinger
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BIKE LANES AS NETWORK
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A LARGE NETWORK
773,000 New Yorkers ride a bicycle regularly, with
over 530,000 cycling trips a day
1,375 miles of bike lanes in NYC – the most in the
country!
Varying levels of protection
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UNLIKE OTHER NETWORKS
“endowed with modernity's technological networks, the urban
fabric became a nexus of entry-exit points for a myriad of
interconnected circuits and conduits” (Kaika 28)
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UNLIKE OTHER NETWORKS
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NETWORK AGENCY?
Is this network responsible for people’s deaths or injuries while using it?
Do our streets absolve themselves of responsibility for the safety of cyclists, motorists?
How much agency can we assign to inanimate infrastructure?
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STREET SAFETY
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VISION ZERO
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VISION ZERO
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INVESTMENTS & IMPACTS ARE UNEQUAL
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ETHICAL ISSUES
Transit justice, gender justice, racial justice, climate justice: whose deaths are
acceptable? Which areas should be prioritized vs deprioritized?
The bicycle as mode of transportation, rather than leisure or lifestyle preference: how
to prioritize it, or at least value it as much as driving?
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GENTRIFICATION
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COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
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GENTRIFICATION
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GENTRIFICATION
“difficult for delivery vans to serve our families in
Astoria”
“our city should have compassion for the many
families who lack the financial means to afford a
driveway”
“As a community, we ought to stand in solidarity;
we must make it clear to city leaders when new
transportation initiatives are hurting New Yorkers.”
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CONCLUSION
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
Technological drama!
Bike lanes are future-looking and collective infrastructure
Unique porosity of bike lanes compared to other networks
Choices in street design reflect societal values