for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com november 28, 2013 • The Courier SUN 3 Weighing plans for abandoned rail line BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] Transportation advocates have had resurrection on the mind for the abandoned Rockaway Beach line (RBL), and are now getting local support THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes Woodhaven Blvd. safety still in flux BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] The city’s five-year study on Woodhaven Boulevard safety improvements show some solutions worked better than others. The thoroughfare, which connects Middle Village, Woodhaven and Ozone Park, among others, is one of the most trafficked in the borough and is prone to many accidents, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT officials collected feedback from residents and community leaders on the results of the study at a meeting on November 21. “They have been very cooperative. They have accepted feedback, and they are trying to do the best that they can,” said Community Board 5 Chair Vincent Arcuri Jr. “I think we need to concentrate on the areas that seem that they’ll never be resolved and come up with out-of-the box solutions.” Within the last three years, the DOT has implemented some ideas to reduce accidents on Woodhaven Boulevard, like extending sidewalks and medians in the stretch from Queens Boulevard to 62nd Road, which gave pedestrians more space. The DOT also made the southbound traffic on the service road at the intersection of Union Turnpike and Woodhaven Boulevard a “must turn right” lane in 2011. In 2012, they shrunk the two lanes of the service road into one because it was too narrow. These solutions had varying results. Woodhaven Boulevard from Queens Boulevard to 62nd Road had a total of 293 crashes from 2011 to 2012, up from an average of 254 accidents per year before the solutions were implemented, according to NYPD data. However, accidents at Union Turnpike and Woodhaven Boulevard have decreased 29 percent to an average of 64 from 90 per year, according to the same data. For future improvements, the DOT plans to change the service road on both sides on Woodhaven Boulevard between Atlantic Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard into one lane of traffic and one parking lane. Currently, from one parking lane and two narrow lanes for traffic. The department is also planning to create a dedicated bus lane on the northbound side, from the Belt Parkway to Liberty Avenue. Some people felt more could be done on Woodhaven Boulevard. Not everyone at the meeting believed the solutions were assured to reduce accidents. “The solutions are, in my opinion, theoretical,” said Community board 9 Chair Jim Cocovillo. “On paper, they are designed to work, but you know as well as I do that many times they don’t.” After analyzing feedback from the community, the DOT will begin preparing to make the improvements for next year and continue to monitor the troubled thoroughfare. to see if their vision can become a reality. Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder announced on November 25 that Queens College will undertake a study to assess the proposed options for the tracks. Along with a rail line revival, plans exist to convert the 3.5- mile long space to a public park, the QueensWay. “The whole idea is to expose all possible options,” said Dr. Leonard Rodberg, chair of the Department of Urban Studies, which will conduct the study. Starting next spring, graduate and undergraduate students will be able to take research courses geared towards the RBL, studying the community impact of each plan. They will consider census data, existing transportation patterns and more. During the summer of 2014, roughly a dozen students will be hired as research assistants to do field work, going out in the community and surveying both the area and residents. Completion is projected for the end of the summer. “Our goal here is to do what’s in the best interest of Queens,” Goldfeder said. “We’ve got to look at all options.” Rail line advocates are hoping for a compromise, and several members of the Queens Public Transit Committee would like to find “some common ground.” “When you look at the QueensWay, it’s a great idea,” said Phil McManus, committee chair. “I’m not anti-park, I just think we need the train first.” McManus said that bringing back the 40-minute commute between the Rockaways and midtown, paired with a park could be the best bet. “If you exclusively do a park without a train, I’m afraid that we’d lose the train forever,” he said. “We’re willing to work with whatever possible. I want transportation for this line, and beautification.” For the upcoming study, Goldfeder plans to provide a capital grant of $50,000 to $100,000 to help with infrastructure needs. The college’s department will also set aside money from their budget. “We need to utilize the tools that we’ve got, much like the rail line,” Goldfeder said. “Hopefully this can lead to the next step.” Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder and Queens Public Transit Committee Chair Phil McManus hope a new feasibility study leads to the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach rail line. THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre The Department of Transportation is planning improve safety on Woodhaven Boulevard through future solutions.
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