Phase 3 Construction (DOT)
Oct. 3, 2018 By Tara Law
The mayor’s office said today that the city will move forward with its plan to redesign the Forest Hills section of Queens Boulevard, but many details surrounding the project— including when it will be implemented— remain unclear.
The Forest Hills section represents the fourth and final phase of a comprehensive redesign of Queens Boulevard, which aims to make the 7 1/2 mile stretch from Sunnyside through to Kew Gardens safer.
This final phase deals with the section between Yellowstone Boulevard and Union Turnpike and includes the installation of protected bike lanes, various traffic calming measures and the elimination of 200 parking spaces, according to the DOT.
A DOT spokesperson said in May that the department aimed to implement the project this summer, but the work has yet to take place.
The Queens Boulevard redesign began in 2015 at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside. It has been overhauled in stages with Phase III going through to Yellowstone Boulevard in Rego Park last year.
Phases of Queens Boulevard Redesign (DOT)
Supporters of the project, including transportation safety advocates, note that no pedestrians have died on the boulevard since 2014.
Others, including local business leaders, have criticized the project for taking away too many parking spaces and making it more difficult for customers to access small businesses.
The final phase planned for the Forest Hills section of Queens Boulevard has been unpopular with the majority of Queens Community Board 6 members and Council Member Karen Koslowitz. The community board voted against the DOT’s proposal in June, and Koslowitz has expressly said that she is against the plan because too many parking spaces are being lost.
Seth Stein, a spokesperson for mayor’s office, released a statement today confirming that the city has not abandoned the project.
“We are moving forward with this redesign. We are currently in close communication with the community and stakeholders on final execution,” Stein said.
Stein did not respond to questions about whether the design would be revised, or about a time frame for implementation.
But stakeholders remain in the dark as to what’s happening.
A spokesperson for Karen Koslowitz’s office said that the DOT has not indicated to them whether it intends to revise the project proposal or when implementation will happen.
Meanwhile, Community Board 6 has also not been informed as to the project’s status.
“We haven’t seen or heard anything,” said Steven Goldberg, the chair of the board’s transportation committee.
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19 Comments
Really looking forward to these safety improvements! I mostly get around by foot, bike, or transit and have two kids who need to do the same. Can’t wait!
As a principal cross borough corridor, Queens Blvd. needs to be a complete street. That is one that accommodates all street users safely. Much of the auto traffic circulating around Forest Hills is parents ferrying tweens and teens around on trips that they could take on their own, if only there were safe routes for them. The dozens of parking spaces along 2 miles of service road that will be eliminated did not even exist until the creation of the median parking lanes back in the 1990s to calm the service roads. Although the bike lanes west of Yellowstone Blvd. seem underutilized, that is only temporary. Bike and scooter share is coming in a matter of MONTHS to the entire city, as it has already come to most major US cities. The Mayor and DOT are acting responsibly to anticipate the long overdue shift of some able bodied citizens away from cars and onto greener modes transportation.
how dare they even mention the scooters when 99% of them are illegal to drive on the streets of the NYC
There have been no pedestrian deaths since 2014…including on this stretch that has not been redesigned. Have injuries/accidents on this stretch increased in that time? If not, then please just be honest and say “we want to redesign this”, but stop claiming it’s for safety if it’s working just fine.
The same douchebags who ride these bike lanes by day-demanding protection at all times–are taking ubers and lyfts so they can shop at Whole Foods or binge drink and purge their vegan stir fry whenever they feel the need. If you want to ride your bike go to a fucking park. Loser hipsters. DiBlasio-the biggest limousine liberal out there, doesn’t care if businesses shutter due to lack of parking. Fuck them! tear down the buildings and let your developer friends run amuck.
Hopefully you’ve never ordered takeout in NYC or your cute little rant about the evil bike lanes would make you a giant hypocrite
It’s most probably because many of these people haven’t had exercise in years , and as a result they are disgusting fat-bodies. Now they’re going to have to put down their toaster stroodles and cigarettes to get in shape for cycling , and it’s going to be tough for them quite frankly. Time for fat-camp.. or else back to Jersey 4 u!
The city should provide places where I can park my private property for free.
I don’t care that 800,000 New Yorkers commute by bicycle regularly. Why should I sacrifice shopping convenience for their safety?!
sorry, for free? just gimme a hint where you can do that on Queens blvd
It is apparent to me that the citizens of the City have nothing to say any longer. This administration is very anti car . they do whatever they want no matter what”We the People” sat. We have said we don’t want this redesign. It has not worked out in other parts of Queens Blvd and in Sunnyside. To take away 200 parking spaces is ludicrous. People need to shop and go to the many the doctors on the area and not everyone uses a bike. Forest Hills is a go-to place. There is already a parking issue. This is going to cause mayhem. People will inevitably double park to get an elderly or disabled out of their car to go into a doctor office thereby blocking. Only way will be to go into the little used bike lane. I’ve even seen bike lanes blocked by police cars, trucks etc. Not saying we don’t need improvement especially near 71st avenue and 108th Street but NO BIKE LANES . I see Forest Hills going down rapidly.
I guess things are really going to go downhill when a more sustainable model replaces the current unsustainable, car-centric, lethal, diabetes and lung cancer prone model.
Back to Jersey for you! Plenty of parking spaces there, never fear.
Zero fatalities since 2014!
It seems to be working out just fine.
Your ill conceived efforts are in vein. The bike lanes are happening. Time to put down the bacon and sweet cakes. Might be a good time to kick your nasty cigarette habit while you’re at it. Shape up or ship out… Plenty of NJ parking spaces!!
I grew up in Forest hills and looking back I don’t remember the residents speaking they way some are doing. Prejudge, put down, spoken to disrespectfully. It’s sad to see how not just a neighborhood changes but the people that live there now.
Cyclist should be treated like drivers. They need to register their bikes, have insurance, and adhere to this rules of the road! Everyone held to same standard. These bike lanes have created real issues for our emergency vehicles which ultimately cost LIVES.
Thousands of vehicles who pay insurance, pay for mandatory NYS inspections and registration as opposed to maybe 30 people using the bike lane who pay nothing!!! Decreasing lanes for a few, makes for dangerous conditions for a lot more. If a car is double parked,there are very few blocks that have poles wide enough for cars to go around them. This has to stop.
Unlike your lie that cyclists pay “nothing”, cyclists pay the taxes that pay for the roads. Cars damage those roads (requiring more tax money), bikes do not.
Unlike your lie that “30” people use the bike lane, more than 820,000 New Yorkers ride a bicycle at least several times a month. 24% of adult New Yorkers, nearly 1.6 million people, ride a bike at least once in the past year.
The urban myth that somehow registration fees come even close to paying for the construction and repair of roads really needs to come to an end. We all pay for those roads through our taxes and many of us who ride bikes also own cars, like me. And as typically happens, your criticism of the bike lane largely actually reflects complaints of driver behavior. This design is working. It is saving lives and it is building an infrastructure we need to deal with a growing population. You can’t just keep adding cars to the roads. You need to give folks who can a safe alternative to getting around. I for one, am very happy phase 4 is moving forward.
And since when is double parking not breaking the law? Don’t reward bad drivers who think they’re better than everyone else.
This town was not built for everyone to have a car. Want unlimited parking everywhere? You’ll be happier in the suburbs.