They denounce in Queens non-compliance of the City in the construction of lanes for buses and bicycles in the NYC Streets plan

Transport advocates, activists and political leaders from that part of the Big Apple denounced that only 5 protected miles have been delivered, that is, less than 72% of the required by the law of the Plan de Calles del 900, showing the progress in the works in single digits and denying protections to pedestrians and cyclists, who are daily in the midst of traffic jams and little security. At the same time, they denounced the lack of fast bus lines, since the thousands of passengers who depend on this public transport must suffer daily what they described as the slowest service in the entire country.

Danny Pearlstein, director of the Riders Alliance organization, warned that with the delay in the start of the required works, the progress in the implementation of the Law of the Plan of Streets of 2019 which includes several miles of new bus lanes on Northern Boulevard, increasing speeds by more than 20%, is stalled.

“(Necessary) construction to meet mandatory benchmarks for new bus lanes, bike lanes, pedestrians and other street improvements (such as pedestrian plazas)”, the activist mentioned.

Raúl Ampuero, resident of Jackson Heigh ts, who lost her 9-year-old son, Giovanny, in April of 2019, when a driver ran over the little boy while crossing Northern Boulevard with his mother, he asked Mayor Adams that just as resources have been allocated in other works of the Streets Plan in a positive way, do the same in this part from Queens, where many immigrants live.

Peruvian family man Raúl Ampuero, who lost her 9-year-old son in a run over

“The Mayor must comply with the law and do it right now. This street was poorly designed and is dangerous. Everything has to be modified here in our streets and he must comply with the plan, because it is the only way to organize Northern Boulevard, marking the bus lines, protected bicycle lines, pedestrian care and car lanes, so that so everyone is organized”, said the father of the family. “If you don’t do this fast there will be more deaths, there will be more accidents and more pain in our communities. It is the law and no one can be above the law. It must also make the buses, which are currently arriving late and very full, preventing our children from all getting on and traveling safely, to work better and faster”.

Jaqi Cohen, from the organization Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said a “slap on the wrist” to Mayor Adams for the delay in the works, and especially made a call for him to put his hand to the issue of faster bus service with the construction of the lines for that means of public transport.

“We have the slowest buses in the entire United States: they move at only 7 miles per hour. That is why the City must fulfill its commitment to improve this,” said the defender. “We need the Mayor to act now as we only have 5 miles when promised 18. Keep your promise to commuters and demonstrate your commitment to fully implement the Streets Plan, not only because it’s the right thing to do and because it’s going to improve the lives of New Yorkers, but because there’s a law that mandates it.”

Juan Restrepo, from the Alternativas del Transporte group, and faithful defender of the space for cyclists and pedestrians, joined the call for attention to Mayor Adams, who, however, acknowledged that he had made significant improvements in several roads of the city.

“The Mayor achieved an important goal (the protection of more than 1,000 road intersections), then we know that if you can achieve one, you can achieve another. We just want you to fulfill your commitment and before the end of this year, give us the 30 Protected Miles for Bicyclists and Pedestrians and 20 miles of bus lines,” Restrepo said. “A lot of children and older adults depend on it. Just as Queens Boulevard was changed, which for years was called the Boulevard of death, here we need to do the same with Northern Boulevard. Improve it and change it with the full implementation of the plan”.

Queens Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas asked Mayor Adams not to allow the 2022 ends up failing communities that will benefit from protected miles and bus lines, like yours in Jackson Heights and the East Elmhurst.

“We have been making demonstrations on this corner since last year and we see with frustration that of 20 miles of bus lanes, only five have been done, but there are two months left until the end of 2022 then there is no time to lose. We need action now. There have already been nine deaths and we don’t want one more,” added the political leader, while buses from the Q lines passed in the background 66 and Q72, which tend to be slow and crowded during peak hours, which is insufficient for so many passengers.

Despite criticism from protesters about the lack of compliance of the plan on the Jackson Heights roads, the Department of Transportation (DOT) highlighted that it has very successfully advanced its commitments in various parts of the Big Apple, and although that agency highlighted that they will continue working on their road projects, they did not refer in specifically to the delays on Northern Boulevard, but they anticipated that at the end of this 2022 there will be works in that corridor.

“We are making significant progress on our development goals. e bus lanes with the completion of First Avenue on the horizon, work continuing on University and Westchester avenues, and the Northern Boulevard priority bus project beginning later this year,” said DOT spokesperson Mona Bruno. .

The official also mentioned that the Adams Administration is investing “a historical amount of $900 millions to recover vehicle spaces” and support safe, sustainable and efficient transportation options.

Manifestation for failure to deliver protected miles and bus lanes on Northern Boulevard

“Our work to execute the goals of the Plan de Calles continues; we have exceeded our commitment to improve 1, intersections, we will fulfill our commitments in the discharge zones by the end of the year and We are still on track to achieve our goals in our initiatives to strengthen bike lanes and protected bike lanes,” added the spokesperson for the Mayor’s Administration, Eric Adams.

And just as the protest against non-compliance in the construction of protected bike lanes and bus lines, Mayor Adams proudly showed off his ambitious goal of having 1,300 intersections with safety improvements by the end of this 2022, as well as the achievement of speed cameras the 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week a and an investment of almost a billion dollars in the New York City Streets Plan.

In his announcement, the president explained that the DOT has so far improved road safety by more of 1,200 intersections, where the occur) % of pedestrian fatalities and the 79% of pedestrian injuries citywide. The initial goal for this year was to make improvements to 1,000 intersections.

“Earlier this year, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez and I made a commitment to fix 1, of the most dangerous intersections in New York City. And today I am proud to say that we are not only reaching the goals, but we are exceeding them, making more than 1,200 intersections are safer for everyone who uses them,” said Mayor Adams. “Road safety is public safety, and no New Yorker should be afraid to walk our streets. These improved intersections will reduce the risk of traffic violence, keeping all New Yorkers safer on our streets.”