Queens bus redesign draft prioritizes Jamaica and Flushing routes

A Q60 plods down Queens Boulevard in Woodside. Eagle file photo by Jonathan Sperling.

By Jonathan Sperling

From Eastern Queens to Lower Manhattan in 60 minutes or less — that could be the new reality under a recently released draft of the MTA’s Queens Bus Network Redesign plan. 

After months of collecting community input from a multitude of the borough’s bus commuters, the transit agency on Tuesday published a 434-page draft detailing several streamlined bus routes, more accessible bus stops and plans for connecting commuters with key destinations throughout the borough, especially in Eastern Queens.

The plan also promises to boost Queens bus speeds, which currently average 8.7 mph, a 3.3 percent decrease from 2015. Thought not yet finalized, the plan lists 49 bus corridors to be studied for potential street improvements prioritizing buses, locations that were identified by the city’s Department of Transportation. Among them are Roosevelt Avenue, Parsons Boulevard, Hillside Avenue, Grand Avenue/Grand Street, 108th Street and 21st Street.

MTA NYC Transit President Andy Byford called the Queens bus plan “one of the pillars” of the agency’s Fast Forward plan in a statement.

“We are very excited about this draft plan for Queens buses because it is a true reimagination of the routes that incorporates the earned knowledge of customers, our ground personnel and operations staff to create a new foundation of bus service in Queens,” Byford said.

Bus riders can also view a series of redesigned bus routes included in the plan, designed to reduce bus bunching, remove redundant bus stops and ultimately bridge the gap between the further reaches of Queens and the rest of the city. Under the new plan, commuters could potentially travel from Hollis, Laurelton and Fresh Meadows to parts of Lower Manhattan in 60 minutes or less. The plan would also create better connections between Queens and Brooklyn, as well as Queens and the Bronx.

Better bus connectivity within the borough is another goal of the plan. The MTA has proposed routes that more efficiently link riders to LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy Airport and cross-borough destinations. Astoria bus riders, for example, could see their travel time to parts of Northeast Queens cut to an hour or less.

The MTA said it intends to begin implementing a final version of the plan in 2021.

Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein took a preliminary look at the Queens bus plan and told the Eagle that the redesign seems promising.

“The redesign holds a great potential to build equity in Queens by better connecting service workers with job centers,” Pearlstein said .

The redesigned bus network directly increases access to 38.5 percent more jobs and 21 percent more Queens residents, according to the MTA.

The plan’s mention of the MTA’s collaboration with DOT was especially encouraging to Riders Alliance in the wake of Manhattan’s 14th Street Busway.

“We’re hopeful in this coming year as the redesign is finalized and implemented that DOT works closely with MTA so that the priority bus routes get the priority bus lane treatment,” Pearlstein added.