GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
After months of delays, DOT to implement
Flushing busway within next two weeks
Photo by Mark Hallum
through this zone, however,
has been logged at about five
miles per hour during weekdays.
Similar conditions
have been found in other sections
of the city such as 14th
Street, where there is now
a successful busway, and
Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood,
Queens, where DOT
installed bus lanes in 2019.
Both proposals were
fought tooth and nail by business
leaders in respective
areas.
The section of Main Street
between Sanford Avenue and
Northern Boulevard has
been under a constant state
of transformation for a number
of years that place heavy
emphasis on mass transit users.
In October 2018, the MTA
finished up on modernization
of the LIRR’s Flushing–Main
Street station which was
part of a $5.6 billion modernization
effort across the
commuter line network.
The station renovation coincided
with the development
of a new affordable housing
complex adjacent to the station,
a pet project of the late
Borough President Claire
Schulman who had hoped
that the proximity of the two
would mean future Flushing
residents would be less car
dependent.
Throughout 2016 and 2017,
DOT invested $7 million and
began widening sidewalks on
Main Street as increasingly
crowded conditions made the
need apparent.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum
by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4564.
VOTING ENDS MONDAY
NOVEMBER 2nd!
SUPPORT YOUR BELOVED QUEENS BUSINESSES!
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | OCT. 30-NOV. 5, 2020 1
Your Neighborhood — Your News®
ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK
• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2020
BY MARK HALLUM
Busways planned for
Flushing’s Main Street corridor
will finally be implemented
after months of delay
and pushback from local
business leaders in northeast
Queens.
A letter sent Friday, Oct.
23, to Queens Community
Board 7 informs the advisory
entity that the city Department
of Transportation is
pushing ahead with the plan
to prioritize buses in the already
transit heavy corridor
within the next two weeks
and will follow up with more
feedback near the end of
November.
“We are writing to provide
the group with an update
on implementation. After
completing some additional
reviews and outreach, NYC
DOT plans to start implementation
in the next two weeks
for the Main Street Busway.
This work will include street
marking changes, sign installations
as well as parking
mitigations,” said the
letter from Andrew Arcese,
borough planner at DOT.
The Flushing Chinese
Business Association and
Randall Eng, an attorney
and retired judge representing
the group, have opposed
the busway plan based on the
claim that the majority of
shoppers hitting storefronts
throughout the bustling,
congestion-choked business
district come by personal
auto.
According to Eng, they
fear motorists may forego
shopping in the area altogether
due to the number of
detours that will be required
during the hours the corridor
is exclusive to buses operated
by New York City Transit.
DOT has ultimately chosen
to prioritize 155,000 bus
riders who pass through the
interchange of 11 bus routes
as well as connections to the
7 train and the Long Island
Rail Road’s Port Washington
line.
The average bus speed
Vol. 86 No. 44 48 total pages
2021
BESTOF.QNS.COM
/schnepsmedia.com
/QNS.COM
/QNS.COM
/BESTOF.QNS.COM
