Chamber of Commerce Weighs Bicycle Path Proposal

Douglaston leaders said they support a proposal to link a bicycle path from the Cross Island Parkway to Douglaston Village, but have yet to determine whether the plan is feasible.

The village’s chamber of commerce has listed the bike path along with several other proposals to draw people to the neighborhood’s shops and restaurants.

“There is interest,” said Dorothy Matinale, president of the Douglaston Village Chamber of Commerce. “The bike path is something people would like to see.”

The chamber currently has plans to fix up facades of the village’s stores along 235th Street near the Long Island Rail Road as well as add benches around the community.

Under another plan, the chamber would place a clock tower at the traffic circle along 235th Street across from Strawberry’s Sports Grill and Il Toscano.

Some business owners have also called for a sign to be placed on Northern Boulevard in an effort to draw drivers from that roadway to the village.

One proposal for the bike route is to connect a cycling path along the Cross Island Parkway known as Joe Michael’s Mile to Douglaston Village.

But Matinale said there could be difficulty linking the path to the community.

“There’s a question on how it would play out with the wetlands,” she said. “We’d have to hire architects to see if something such as a bike path is feasible or rather a lovely wish that would never come to fruition.”

Susan Seinfeld, district manager of Community Board 11, said various options to extend the path come with safety or financial concerns.

“You can’t have bikes going against traffic – they’d have to follow traffic,” she said. “So, do you keep them on the northbound side of Northern Boulevard of do you keep them on the southbound side by building something off-street such as a continuation of Joe Michael’s Mile? That would be expensive because you’d have to make an asphalt path.”

Joani Emerson, whose husband, Jerry Emerson, owns Peak Bicycle Pro Shop on 235th Street, said she believes the path would draw more people to the village’s stores and restaurants.

She said some store owners are also calling for the construction of a structure, such as a footbridge, to allow residents to walk or ride their bikes over the LIRR’s tracks.

“Now, there’s just a tunnel that goes under the tracks and everyone hates it,” she said. “It always has graffiti. We’re hoping to build something over the railroad. It might be aesthetically pleasing. People would want to hang out in the village longer. They could ride in to get coffee, dinner or lunch.”