22 NOVEMBER 16, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
City touts newest and longest SBS route
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@QNS.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined city
agencies on Monday in praising
the launch of New York
City’s newest Select Bus Service (SBS)
route along Woodhaven and Cross Bay
boulevards, as the Q52 and Q53 buses
became the latest routes to be included
in the project.
The Woodhaven/Cross Bay SBS
route is the 15th of its kind in the city,
and at 14.7 miles in length, is the longest
corridor to off er customers SBS.
This SBS route also brings transformational
Vision Zero safety improvements
to one of the city’s widest and
highest-crash streets.
“Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevard
are critical roads in Queens —
and from the Rockaways to Elmhurst,
residents deserve this first-class
service,” de Blasio said in a statement.
“We are committed to expanding Select
Bus Service even further, as we
know it not only brings increased
reliability and reduced travel time
for bus riders, the dramatic street
improvements of SBS will also make
our streets safer for pedestrians and
motorists. Here in Queens, along a
street that has been a Vision Zero
Priority Corridor with far too many
tragic crashes, we expect these changes
to make a big diff erence.”
The New York City Department of
Transportation (DOT) partnered with
the MTA to bring the more than 40,000
daily bus riders along the new SBS route
from the communities of Elmhurst,
Rego Park, Middle Village, Woodhaven,
Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Broad
Channel, Rockaway Park and Arverne
faster and more reliable bus service.
Across New York City, SBS has
delivered between 10 to 30 percent
increases in bus speeds and resulted
in a 10 percent increase in ridership
along these lines, and experts believe
this route will see similar numbers.
“I am happy to announce the arrival
of Woodhaven/Cross Bay SBS, which
we know will bring faster, more
convenient and more reliable bus
service to so many Queens communities,
most of them without subways,”
said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.
“The new service follows
a three-year process of community
engagement, and we made many
adjustments to our plans along the
way. From planners and engineers
to roadway crews and traffi c signal
installers, so many diff erent DOT divisions
deserve praise for their hard
work here, the end result of which
will not only be better bus service
but signifi cant safety benefi ts on one
of New York City’s widest and most
crash-prone roadways.”
With more than 3,000 traffi c-related
injuries and 24 fatalities on Woodhaven
and Cross Bay boulevards between
2011 and 2015, DOT and the MTA began
outreach for the SBS route in 2014,
creating the design concept to deal
with community issues including:
unreliable and slow bus service; long
pedestrian crossings across as many
as 10 lanes of traffi c; varying road
widths and confi gurations along the
corridor; congestion; and the need for
transit improvements for customers.
The Woodhaven/Cross Bay corridor
contains eight Vision Zero Priority intersections
— including Woodhaven
Boulevard and Union Turnpike — and
in all, more than 30 intersections are
being upgraded for better pedestrian
safety and traffi c fl ow.
“This new SBS route will connect
communities that previously had to
rely a slow bus that was oft en caught in
traffi c. Now, the Q52/53 SBS will speed
up commutes for tens of thousands
of daily riders,” said Nick Sifuentes,
executive director of the Tri-State
Transportation Campaign. “We’re glad
that, aft er a comprehensive, multi-year
community process, Mayor de Blasio
and DOT have designed an SBS route
that will speed up buses for riders,
make roads safer for pedestrians,
Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
and improve commutes for everyone
who uses Woodhaven and Cross Bay
Boulevards.”
Automated camera enforcement will
be in eff ect to make sure motorists are
adhering to the “Bus Lane Only” routes.
Bus lanes will be in eff ect curbside
in residential areas from 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. on Monday through Friday, and
curbside along Cross Bay Boulevard
from 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday
through Saturday. Bus lanes off set
from parking lane or in the main road
will be in eff ect 24 hours, seven days
a week, and curbside parking will be
preserved.
New signage along each bus route
will indicate the hours when bus lanes
are operable, and during which they
are camera-enforced.
Motorists found to be driving in the
new red bus lanes along the Q52/Q53
route will be issued mailed warnings
starting Sunday, Nov. 19. The warning
period lasts for 60 days, aft er which
violations will be issued.
Once in full eff ect in January 2018,
bus lane violations will result in a Notice
of Liability, which includes a photo
of the violation and a fi ne between $115
and $150, mailed directly to the vehicle
registrant’s address. Since violations
are issued against the vehicle, not the
driver, points are not deducted from
motorists’ licenses.
The Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevard Select Bus Service has offi cially launched.
