BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The long-delayed fourth
section of the Queens Boulevard
bike lane finally will
wrap up on Oct. 29, making
the notorious roadway once
known as the “Boulevard of
Death” safer for cyclists and
pedestrians, Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced in Forest
Hills.
“The Boulevard of Death
becomes the Boulevard of
Life,” hizzoner said at a
press conference next to the
newly green-painted lanes on
Queens Boulevard near 70th
Road. “The final phase of
Queens Boulevard, the final
act of Vision Zero on Queens
Boulevard will be completed
next month, October 2021,
once and for all.”
The four-phase project
originally began in 2015
heading east from Roosevelt
Avenue, and the final section
between Yellowstone Boulevard
to Union Turnpike
was supposed to be installed
almost three years ago in
November 2018, but was delayed
repeatedly until May
when de Blasio committed to
finishing it.
The upgrades include new
bike paths on the service
road separated from traffic
by plastic flappers, new stop
controls at ramps heading on
and off the roadway to avoid
clashes with cars, and longer
left-turn bays for safer turns,
according to the Department
of Transportation.
In parts of the thoroughfare
where the bike lanes
were installed earlier, the
city registered a 55% drop in
pedestrian injuries and 19%
less crashes, according to
2018 DOT stats.
“Let me tell you it has
worked. As each phase has
been completed, Queens Boulevard
has become safer and
safer,” de Blasio said. “The
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number of injuries has plummeted
— thank God — and
this will make it even better.”
Advocates praised the
new bike lane as life changing
for Queens cyclists.
“Couldn’t be happier to
finally ride on this just this
morning, it’s amazing and
it’s going to change lives of
so many people,” said Juan
Restrepo of Transportation
Alternatives.
But the pedaler also repeated
a push by activists for
the city to go further and extend
the lanes all the way to
Hillside Avenue in Jamaica.
“We want to eventually
pass this by Borough Hall,
bring it all the way down to
Jamaica,” Restrepo said.
When pressed about the
extension by Schnpes Media,
the mayor declined to make
a commitment to bring the
“Boulevard of Life” to the
more Black and brown neighborhood
to the east during
Cyclists ride down the Queens Boulevard bike lane on Sept. 22.
his three months and change
left in office.
“One step at a time, we’re
looking citywide where all
the next steps should be, but
Vision Zero’s going to keep
rolling,” he said following
the press conference. “Constant
expansion, that is what
Vision Zero is all about.”
A DOT rep would only say
Courtesy of the mayor’s offi ce
that the agency will keep an
eye on the boulevard as a
“priority corridor.”
“Queens Boulevard beyond
Union Turnpike is a
Vision Zero priority corridor,
and therefore, as with
any priority corridor, we are
looking into potential future
improvements,” said Brian
Zumhagen.
Queens Blvd. bike lane
will be fi nished in Oct.
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