Saturday, November 6, 2010

Untangling the traffic mess at Queens Center

From NY1:

Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus drivers say it feels like a game of real-life bumper cars when they try to make their way around livery cabs outside the Queens Center Mall.

"You can't get into the curb. You have to honk the horn. [Cars] don't move. Passengers get off the bus and they have to weave in between the cars,” said one bus driver.

For riders, stepping as far as two lanes into Queens Boulevard can be just the start of the adventure.

“Sometimes it is very hard for me to get up into the bus. So it's really very hard,” said a bus rider.

A half-dozen bus lines stop outside the main entrance to the mall. The buses compete with cars, vans, and the livery cabs trolling for shoppers.

Police are trying to do something about it. The New York City Police Department says the 110th Precinct gave out more than 200 tickets in September alone. MTA managers can write summonses, too. And the Taxi and Limousine Commission has issued more than 600 of its own and seized 30 cabs.

But, locals say the curb gets crowded again the instant officers leave.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Remember when they used to paint the curbs yellow at bus stops?

Anonymous said...

This is a huge problem here, Jackson Heights bus terminal and many other places.

However the City allows these black cars to troll for customers on the street when they are only licensed to be dispatched by radio to a fare location where the fare waits.

So in order to put some teeth into preventing these black cars from waiting at these bus stops, impliment the 2 strikes rule. The 2 strikes rule would be a 1K fine if caught picking up fares not dispatched. On the 2ond offense the fine remains 1K but the license is suspended for 2 weeks.

The city does not enforce laws in Queens and it better start doing so as these issues escalate until someone gets seriously hurt. The 110 precinct does not do a good job patrolling it's boundaries and the territory is too large and complex to do a good job. In fact the precinct has seen almost a doubling of population and the south western portion near the malls on the Blvd should have it's own Precinct to be effective to combat traffic offenses and crime.

Anonymous said...

Hood Mounted .50 cal Machine guns

Anonymous said...

"the curb gets crowded again the instant officers leave."


so don't move the officers let them stay on that block problem solved

Anonymous said...

"south western portion near the malls on the Blvd should have it's own Precinct to be effective to combat traffic offenses and crime"

What color is the sky on your planet?

Anonymous said...

Supply and demand...maybe people shouldn't use the livery cars???? Ticket the fools that ride in them....

Anonymous said...

Supply and demand...maybe people shouldn't use the livery cars????

I guess they should take one of the dozens of yellow cabs cruising around the Queens mall. These livery cabs flourish in the outer boroughs because they are under served by yellow cabs.

georgetheatheist said...

This is why I buy most of my stuff on line. The UPS/FedEx guy is my factotum. And I avoid all sorts of human vermin at the mall.

Anonymous said...

Thanks thats one less human vermin at the mall.

Anonymous said...

They should set aside an area where livery cabs are allowed to pick up fares, like they do at the airports and near Grand Central.

Peter said...

200 tickets per month averages out to less than 7 per day in a 30 day month.

Based on the situation, that hardly seems to be aggressive enforcement.

Anonymous said...

200 tickets per month averages out to less than 7 per day in a 30 day month.

Based on the situation, that hardly seems to be aggressive enforcement.
-----------------------------------
Yeah, and we would all be ok with overzealous cops going on a summons blitz right?

Anonymous said...

Put up wrought iron fences. space them so that the openings only fit the front and rear door openigs for the busses.Or make it a bus only lane ,put up cameras ...any car in the he lane gets a summons. Or make a pik-up area around the corner.Or have ice deport all non-citizen drivers and burn their cars on the spot!

Anonymous said...

I drive thru that area as a local commuter. I follow the rules. I have a family to get home to. But I follow the rules. Bus drivers ignore the. Cab drivers ignore them. Commuters ignore them. Get them all.

Anonymous said...

The Queens Mall is a packed to capacity hellhole both inside and out. To be avoided at all costs.

Anonymous said...

DEPORT ALL THE DRIVERS, IMPOUND THE CARS!!!!


I'm tired of all the gypsy cabs all over the place. It is AGAINST THE LAW to pick up people without calling ahead first. These scumbags from other lands dont seem to care.

Everywhere there is a bus stop becomes a gypsy cab paradise.

The "new" bus depot under the M train at Myrtle Wycoff CLEARLY states buses only on that block, but at any given moment, there are more dirty cabbies on that block than buses.

Enough already!!!!

Anonymous said...

It's not Manhattan so it doesn't matter, right?