APRIL 15, 2022 WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES
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Holden pushes for in-person workshops for Queens bus network redesign
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIALQNS.COM
QNS
Councilman Robert Holden has requested that
the MTA hold in-person meetings regarding the
Queens bus network redesign instead of virtual
workshops to hear feedback from the community before
moving forward.
The MTA will be hosting a three-month-long virtual
public workshop series to hear feedback from communities.
Workshops will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.,
starting with District 1 (Astoria, Long Island City and
Woodside) on April 18.
The workshop for Community Board 5, consisting of
Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale, Fresh
Pond and Liberty Park, will be held Wednesday, May 4.
Holden, however, is unhappy that these virtual meetings
will not reach all members of the community who
may not have computers or internet access.
“With the dra plan recently published, my o ce has
heard from many constituents, especially our seniors,
that they have not been able to see the plan,” Holden
wrote in a letter to the MTA. “This is why my o ce
requested that your sta send hard copies of the entire
dra to our local senior centers and other community
facilities.”
According to MTA Spokesperson Sean Butler, the
city’s Department of Aging has sent digital copies to
every senior center and home-care provider agency
that works in the borough.
Just last month, the MTA released a new dra plan for
the Queens bus network a er halting the 2019 project
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The revision o ers a
total of 85 routes for the borough, an increase from the
current 82 there are now. Some routes will be added
and some will be removed and consolidated with others
close by. The plan will take away 1,685 stops.
In an e ort to shorten the commuting time, the MTA
wants to space stops further apart, from about 850 feet
to 1,400 feet. This could save 20 seconds of travel per
stop, according to o cials.
Butler also said the MTA has seen higher attendance
and increased engagement through virtual public meetings
compared to in-person meetings.
“The MTA has emphasized the importance of robust
community engagement including 14 upcoming
Photo courtesy of DOT
community district workshops that can be attended virtually
or via smartphone as well as through dial-in for
individuals lacking internet access,” Butler said. “The
MTA has not ruled out in-person public meetings on the
Queens Redesign should they be warranted and can be
held safely. We will continue to update stakeholders on
how to best participate in the Redesign as we advance
through each phase.”
The MTA kicked o the bus redesign again in August,
starting with the Bronx, which will get the new bus system
this summer. According to the city’s comptroller,
the MTA buses are the slowest in the nation and lost 100
million passenger trips since 2008.
In partnership with the Maspeth Kiwanis Club, Assembly Member
Brian Barnwell & Council Member Robert Holden.
/WWW.QNS.COM
