The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Tuesday that it would be releasing a detailed preliminary plan to redesign a 1.3-mile portion of Queens Boulevard. The plan is based on community input gathered during a safety workshop held on Jan. 22 in Woodside.
This project, which will be reviewed by Community Board 2 and is expected to be implemented in August, launches the start of the DOT’s $100 million Green Streets initiative, which will cover all seven miles of Queens Boulevard.
The agency plans to hold more public workshops during the fall and winter for the future phases of the initiative, from 73rd Street to Eliot Avenue and from Eliot Avenue to Union Turnpike.
The first phase of the redesign, which includes the installation of a protected bike lane, covers the 1.3-mile stretch of the thoroughfare between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street.
The agency previously said it decided to focus on this section first because statistics showed there have been six fatalities since 2009 in that particular area.
Some of the features of the first redesign segment include safer crossings, increased pedestrian space and improved intersections. The preliminary plan also looks to calm the traffic on service roads and try to reduce the number of times drivers move between the main line and service roads.
Unique redesigns include a protected bike lane integrated into a widened service road median, with new pedestrian space and median-to-median crossings that “allow for a linear park-like experience,” according to the DOT.
21 comments:
THIS is an April Fool Prank from D.O.T. Right?
The rendering fails to show parking. What it describes as "buffer" is actually parking. When is the Manhattan Bubble people who rule our huge city going to accept the fact that people in Queens drive?! Where are people going to park? The car haters are arrogant and clueless.
There's a whole lane dedicated to parking on each side, moron.
Before you call people morons perhaps you should realize that there are currently 2 lanes of parking on each side and one on each side is being taken away for bike lanes.
This looks like Ocean Parkway on the way to Coney. This rendering looks like it could work, but there is ample room for bikes on the far left and right lanes to ride.
Let me know how this all turns out 30 years from now.
As someone who takes a bus down Queens Boulevard every day to go to work- how is this going to make public transportation faster? If anything this will slow down buses and increase overcrowding on the F train during rush hour.
I rarely see overcrowding on the existing sidewalks. Why do we need expanded "pedestrian malls"? Can we get a dedicated bus lane instead?
If you look at satellite imagery or Google Street View for the section of Queens Blvd in this proposal (between Roosevelt Ave and 74rd St), you'll see there's only parking curbside in the service lanes there.
The proposal covers Roosevelt ave to Eliot ave. Phase one stops 74 st. Most of the project includes areas that currently have parking on both sides of the service roads.
Can someone explain how adding a bike lane and a pedestrian mall will make the road safer? Anyone who drives down Queens Blvd. will hit plenty of red lights and will wait a LONG time for that light to turn green. They timed the lights so that pedestrians have ample time to cross. Plenty of people do not obey the lights and think they will have enough time to make it across and end up running, crossing against the light or walking along the fences that were put up in order to take shortcuts and this is the real problem - a lack of common sense; and a bike lane and pedestrian mall will not teach people how to properly cross a busy road like Queens Blvd. If anything, we should not be encouraging people to ride bikes along this road or to linger in the "pedestrian malls" that should just be medians - this is not Herald Square where people will sit down and why are we encouraging people to linger longer in the middle of Queens Blvd? I'm so sick of hearing that it is the blvd of death, I see plenty of older women with shopping carts in Forest Hills make it across just fine, if people are irresponsible, why does the city need to spend $100 million to redesign a road in such a way that is just going to be adding more obstacles and confusion? I guess its just easier to throw money at this "problem" instead of just telling people that they need to pay attention and not text, play games on their phones when crossing streets.
So were putting bike lanes on a major roadway used by thousands of people so that a dozen people can ride their bikes every day. Every bike lane I look at in Queens is always empty. This is another stupid deblazio idea.
The real problem that this mayor and DOT are not addressing is the rampant jaywalking and out of control bikes. It's not the car's fault when you jaywalk and get hit or ride your bike the wrong way through a red light and get hit by a car. We need to place the blame where it belongs mostly on bikes and pedestrians.
These stupid redesigns do nothing but cause traffic congestion. We should be adding traffic and parking lanes to Queens Blvd. not making bike lanes and plazas.
A safety margin for pedestrians and cyclists on the road is a good thing. It's like a guard rail on the highway. You don't expect everyone to be perfect, you know people are idiots so you don't want a system that's deadly for idiots.
Crappy when you say most of the project includes areas with parking are you referring to phase 1, or the later phases?
I am talking about the entire project. About 2/3 of it has parking on both sides.
Are we ever going to stand up against this push to punish drivers for driving?
If you read Streetsblog, the people pushing for these changes don't hide the real agenda - get rid of cars anywhere they can.
This is for the Queens Blvd segment between Roosevelt Ave and 70 St. As the current service road has a buffer lane instead parking on the divider side, no parking will be lost for phase 1.
There should be more trees in the center median thru Forest Hills, hence the name "Forest". It is ugly as is and neglected. And at the end where one enters the Grand Central Parkway the Fountain should be restored and the Civic Virtue should be returned. What little art and beauty one saw on the daily commute has been taken away or neglected. The whole center along the main Blvd. should be green and made beautiful.
The bottom line is that this is a huge change for these communities and they were not consulted. I live along the affected area and they are creating a nightmare!
Yes Mitchell
More trees and greenery along the boulevard it's so barren and ugly.
They seem to think people in Queens are undeserving of nice things... I doubt it will ever look like Eastern & Ocean Parkways though.
I can't believe that in neighborhoods like RP and FH, we will be losing a parking lane on each side of Queens Blvd. for the sake of making bike lanes. These areas are already strapped for parking as it is and for a few people who might actually bike on this busy road, it will seriously hurt those who need those parking spaces, not to mention the businesses there as well. Maybe people should reconsider biking along a 12 lane boulevard or at least pay some serious attention to their surrounds when cycling. I am so sick of this anti car movement. Queens is not Manhattan and it is just not as easy to hop around queens on public transit doing shopping and errands as it is in Manhattan. Many people who live in FH and RP have cars and might not be within walking distance of queens blvd and need to take their car there. Lots of seniors live in these areas as well and there are plenty of medical offices along the blvd that people drive to or get rides to and they need to park close to the offices, unless deBlasio thinks the elderly should all ride their bikes everywhere too! This bike lane nonsense is a loss for the neighborhood just so deBlasio can think he's doing something good- turning the 'blvd of death' into the 'blvd of life'- how profound! Let's just watch the accident numbers plummet, OK!! Let's face it, you can't change stupid and plenty of people will still get injured, despite this 100 million dollar waste.
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