Activists Pressure City To Finish Queens Boulevard Redesign

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Activists are upping the pressure on city officials to finish redesigning the notoriously dangerous Queens Boulevard.

Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives is rallying Sunday to demand the city move ahead with its plan to redesign a portion of Queens Boulevard from Yellowstone Boulevard to Union Turnpike in Forest Hills. The NYC Department of Transportation says it is moving forward with the redesign but has not shared a project timeline.

The Forest Hills redesign is the last step in the DOT's four-phase effort to make the notorious "Boulevard of Death" safer. The agency plans to add crosswalks, slip lanes and other safety measures along the 1.2-mile stretch of Queens Blvd. from Yellowstone Blvd. to Union Turnpike in Forest Hills.

But the project stalled after the local community board voted against it, in large part because the plan would replace more than 200 parking spots with bike lanes.

"Every moment this design is not implemented increases the chances that someone will be seriously hurt or sadly killed on this stretch of Queens Blvd," Peter Beadle, a transit advocate and Community Board 6 member, told Patch, adding that he wasn't speaking on behalf of the board.

The plan's most controversial aspect is the elimination of 220 parking spaces. In Rego Park, where the DOT already finished its Queens Boulevard redesign, business owners said the loss of parking spots cost them customers. Forest Hills residents argue the change will hurt seniors and people with disabilities.

The Transportation Alternatives rally is Sunday, March 31, at noon in MacDonald Park in Forest Hills. Click here for more information.