Electeds bash new Downtown Jamaica busways
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A host of elected officials bashed the Department of Transportation over its plan to implement two new busways in Downtown Jamaica this month. Photo via MTA
By Jacob Kaye
The Department of Transportation began construction on two busways in Downtown Jamaica this week, angering nearly every elected official in the area.
The DOT announced Monday that the busways – which create a lane of traffic dedicated to buses – on Archer and Jamaica Avenue are currently underway and expected to be implemented this month.
The aim of the project, according to the agency, is to increase bus speeds in one of the most sluggish corridors in the city, calm traffic, make truck deliveries easier and provide a quicker trip for the residents of Southeast Queens who have some of the longest commute times in the country.
The Archer Avenue busway will run eastbound from 150th Street to 160th Street. On Jamaica Avenue, the lane for buses will run from Sutphin Boulevard to 168th Street in both directions.
Both will be enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
City Councilmembers I. Daneek Miller and Adrienne Adams, State Senators Leroy Comrie and James Sanders, Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman and Rep. Gregory Meeks all came out against the busway, claiming the timeline for the roll out was unfairly accelerated, that there was a lack of safeguards against derelict vehicles parked along the corridors and that enforcement shouldn’t be during all hours of the day.
But at the core of their frustration is the DOT’s lack of communication with the local community, Miller said.
“The goal is to be better, to be more efficient and deliver your services when it comes to transportation,” said Miller, a former bus driver. “But you can't do that from your cubicle and your laptop at [DOT headquarters at] 55 Water [St.], you have to get out here and meet the people where they are and genuinely meet the needs of the folks.”
A DOT spokesperson denied to the Eagle that the agency had slacked on its outreach efforts and said that it had contacted nearly 10 local civic associations, dozens of businesses, elected officials and stakeholders.
“The Archer Avenue busway and Jamaica Avenue busway will speed the commutes of 250,000 daily bus riders through downtown Jamaica,” the spokesperson said. “Faster buses increase ridership, reduce congestion, and help us cut the emissions driving climate change.”
Miller and his colleagues pointed to the roll out of the Merrick Boulevard busway, which they say has caused traffic on a community already steeped in slow commute times.
“We can't support [the new busways], because of what's taking place on Merrick Boulevard is an absolute disaster,” Miller told the Eagle. “Now you put in this additional traffic and it's just been horrendous on residents.”
Miller said that causing even more of a headache are auto body shops in the neighborhood that double park cars in the street, causing even more of a back up. Miller says the shops aren’t being punished for putting the cars in the streets.
An online petition against the busways claims that “Southeast Queens residents who drive to work every day on Merrick [Boulevard] now have to contend with bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions throughout the day.” The petition has garnered nearly 900 signatures.
A DOT spokesperson said the agency has worked with the 103rd and 113th Precinct and the Department of Sanitation to move derelict vehicles and double parked cars along the Merrick Boulevard busway.
Additionally, the DOT has installed bus lane cameras along the corridor and expects to complete the project and start enforcement this month, the spokesperson said.
But the promise to improve Merrick Boulevard hasn’t calmed the elected officials.
"It is unconscionable that the Department of Transportation continues to ignore the needs of the Southeast Queens community, just as they did with the implementation of the bus lane on Merrick Boulevard,” said Comrie. “Given their poor track record on this and a number of other quality-of-life issues, I cannot support a major project along one of our busiest commercial hubs when serious concerns are yet to be addressed just a few blocks away on Merrick. Southeast Queens needs transit improvements but it cannot be done without the confidence and support of local residents.”
Miller said that the only way he’ll support the project is if the agency meets him halfway, reducing the hours of enforcement and listening to the community more about their needs.
“They've kind of dug in their heels and if that is the case, what are we going to see with the larger and grander Archer Avenue, Jamaica Avenue busway, which is responsible for over a quarter of a million riders,” Miller said. “Merrick Boulevard was a test run, and they didn't do well.”
“Until they can demonstrate that they can play well with others, and meet the needs and values of the other stakeholders, we cannot empower and trust and give them total autonomy to move forward with these other projects,” he added.
