12 FEBRUARY 13, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
MTA public outreach lacking on bus redesign plans
The MTA’s rollout of its draft proposal
to completely redesign the
Queens bus network has been a
dog and pony show since the plan was
released on New Year’s Eve.
The agency recently expanded its
“unprecedented public outreach” of
presentations and public workshops
at more than 20 locations around the
borough but the eff ort has been lacking
according to Rockaway resident Jim
Burke, who has been to a half dozen of
these public meetings as a safe streets
and public transit activist.
“We did the unprecedented public
outreach. They did not,” Burke said.
“When this process began, my group
distributed 15,000 fl yers on buses and
bus stops and for 2 ½ weeks no one
ever heard of the meetings. When
people hear the MTA say the eff ort is
community-driven, they just laugh.”
At a recent rally against the plan at
Borough Hall, Councilman Donovan
Richards, who is running for Borough
President, said, “Every pocket of
Queens is against this plan. There was
very little real community input into
this plan from the get-go.”
At an Astoria presentation last
EDITORIAL
The MTA public outreach sessions backing its eff orts to completely redesign the Queens bus network have
been a bust since Andy Byford met with bus riders in Jackson Heights. Photo by Mark Hallum
month, the MTA’s chief of operations
planning admitted that the impact on
transfers “was not considered as much
as it should’ve” been. That is something
real community input into the proposals
would have fi xed.
“Three buses instead of one to get to
your destination,” Burke said. “Now
who would say they would prefer three
transfers over a one seat ride.”
Burke was at the first feedback
meeting in Jackson Heights on Jan. 15,
when the crowd was outraged there
questions were going unanswered.
“Initially, we weren’t allowed to speak
but then Andy Byford arrived and
started taking questions,” Burke said.
“Each subsequent meeting has allowed
for just limited participation from the
public.”
He’s been to meetings where participants
are told to write their questions
on paper and then a moderator
chooses which questions to ask and
“she picks only soft balls.” Burke has
been to meetings in Jackson Heights
and Corona where the MTA has
brought along a single translator who
was overwhelmed by the crowd and
he has seen people taken aside from
their work group for a “one-on-one”
consultation with an MTA offi cial.
“They do everything they can to limit
dissension from spreading.” Burke
said.
The “unprecedented public outreach”
by the MTA has been a sham since Byford
announced he was stepping down
as transit president last month.
The beleaguered agency should just
heed the call of the entire Queens delegation
to the City Council and go back
to the drawing board and amend this
draft and address the real concerns of
Queens riders.
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