The city plans to pour $100 million to stop the “Boulevard of Death” from killing again.
Mayor de Blasio announced Thursday that Queens Boulevard, which earned its dark nickname from the 185 deaths recorded there since 1990, is being redesigned with new bike lanes, wider pedestrian islands and wheelchair ramps.
No longer will lives be threatened just by walking, biking, or driving on Queens Boulevard: http://t.co/KoNjFkk1BLpic.twitter.com/SkNLgSnVHZ
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) July 23, 2015
“When these changes are complete, this will be a safer street for all,” the mayor said at a press conference in Woodside near the notoriously dangerous thoroughfare.
“Pedestrians will actually have enough time to cross the street, and they’ll have a shorter distance to cross. Drivers will find a smoother and slower, but still better, drive because things will make more sense.”
The reconstruction work, already begun between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street, is expected to be completed in two phases.
The first is scheduled to last through early 2017 and include installation of temporary buffers next to “protected” bike lanes, repainted crosswalks and lengthened traffic-light sequences to aid elderly pedestrians.
Department of Transportation work will progress eastward in the first phase, which will conclude at Jamaica Avenue.
The second phase will move back to Roosevelt Avenue and involve permanent changes such as narrower parking spaces and wider concrete medians.
The six central lanes of the busy thoroughfare will continue to accommodate traffic in both phases.
The project is part of the city’s broader, $250 million “Great Streets” initiative, which is also focusing on revamping the Grand Concourse in The Bronx, as well as Atlantic and Fourth avenues in Brooklyn.
Jaime Moncayo, the Queens organizer for the nonprofit Transportation Alternatives, said work on Queens Boulevard would mean delays for commuters but described it, overall, as a victory.
“It’s a big task to take on and obviously we’d like to see more streets like these redesigned,” he said.
Other components of the Queens Boulevard plan include:
- Limiting drivers’ ability to cross over between narrower outside “slip” lanes and the typically faster-moving central lanes.
- New pedestrian islands at 65th Place and 50th Street so people don’t have to sprint across more than eight lanes of traffic to beat traffic lights.
- New crosswalks and traffic signals near the BQE ramps at 66th and 68th streets.
