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Queens Existing Conditions Report Released


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On 10/29/2019 at 7:12 PM, ViaWaterViaChurch said:

I'm sure there's gonna be plenty of cuts to express buses outside of the AM and PM peak periods.  I wish the MTA would consider running downtown express buses up Pike Slip to the Williamsburg bridge to the BQE for the PM runs back to Queens.  I've been looking at traffic over the past few weeks and the BQE northbound is surprisingly not bad.  It would save some time and avoid drivers having to take the upper road on the LIE which is always slower than the lower roadway.

The new lane configuration with both spans of the Kosciusko is working wonders to alleviate northbound traffic.  Southbound traffic is still a crap shoot but hopefully it will keep improving as they finish out work on the approaches and finalize the lane configuration.

Sadly, I can see huge cuts coming for Queens express buses too.  However, Queens has much fewer subway options than the Bronx so there is a chance the cuts may not be as steep.

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1 hour ago, 7-express said:

The new lane configuration with both spans of the Kosciusko is working wonders to alleviate northbound traffic.  Southbound traffic is still a crap shoot but hopefully it will keep improving as they finish out work on the approaches and finalize the lane configuration.

Sadly, I can see huge cuts coming for Queens express buses too.  However, Queens has much fewer subway options than the Bronx so there is a chance the cuts may not be as steep.

*cues. Southeast Queens*

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/31/2019 at 9:33 PM, 7-express said:

The new lane configuration with both spans of the Kosciusko is working wonders to alleviate northbound traffic.  Southbound traffic is still a crap shoot but hopefully it will keep improving as they finish out work on the approaches and finalize the lane configuration.

Sadly, I can see huge cuts coming for Queens express buses too.  However, Queens has much fewer subway options than the Bronx so there is a chance the cuts may not be as steep.

Southbound traffic still sucks because the BQE itself is now the bottleneck as opposed to the bridge. So now that the southbound span is wider, and vehicles don't have to merge into 3 lanes just to get across the creek, there is more throughput onto the highway on the Brooklyn side, which now causes (or increases) backups from further south (BQE/WB Br split and Tillary Street exit only lane reduction)

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On 10/31/2019 at 10:55 PM, Future ENY OP said:
On 10/31/2019 at 9:33 PM, 7-express said:

Sadly, I can see huge cuts coming for Queens express buses too. 

*cues. Southeast Queens*

Southeast Queens' express routes are already peak direction only routes..... Not to implicate that they'll remain unscathed, but the other SE Queens routes would stand to lose more service..... In other words, if we take into consideration the impending service cuts to the Bronx expresses, a lot of those Queens routes (not just SE Queens) are in trouble.....

Edited by B35 via Church
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12 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Southeast Queens' express routes are already peak direction only routes..... Not to implicate that they'll remain unscathed, but the other SE Queens routes would stand to lose more service..... In other words, if we take into consideration the impending service cuts to the Bronx expresses, a lot of those Queens routes (not just SE Queens) are in trouble.....

Yes, I should been a bit more specific. However, Q4,5,83,84,85, 111, 113, 114 I see cuts in service and since those parts of Queens are heavy dollar van territory I would expect more vans in those areas. 

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1 hour ago, Future ENY OP said:

Yes, I should been a bit more specific. However, Q4,5,83,84,85, 111, 113, 114 I see cuts in service and since those parts of Queens are heavy dollar van territory I would expect more vans in those areas. 

I was solely referring to the express bus routes in Queens in that prior post.

As far as any possible proposed cuts to the local routes out there in SE Queens, well you can expect the dollar van drivers out there to circle around like sharks (analogously speaking) when/if that happens.... I'd argue that's what the MTA wants anyway - gives them justification (the way they see it) to provide less service.....

 

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7 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

I was solely referring to the express bus routes in Queens in that prior post.

As far as any possible proposed cuts to the local routes out there in SE Queens, well you can expect the dollar van drivers out there to circle around like sharks (analogously speaking) when/if that happens.... I'd argue that's what the MTA wants anyway - gives them justification (the way they see it) to provide less service....

At the meetings, Byford says "ideally we want them on our buses instead of the vans and we want to make our service more attractive". We'll see if that comes to fruition

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45 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

At the meetings, Byford says "ideally we want them on our buses instead of the vans and we want to make our service more attractive". We'll see if that comes to fruition

That's actually pretty funny.... Not for one second do I believe that they're trying to spur usage.

At best, they're trying to stop the bleeding.

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17 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

That's actually pretty funny.... Not for one second do I believe that they're trying to spur usage.

At best, they're trying to stop the bleeding.

Well, if they want to do that. They need to deal with the extreme transit deserts of Brooklyn, Queens, and NE Bronx and stop the bleeding of Übers, Lyfts, Juno, Via and Dollar Vans. 

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The only Queens express bus routes that I think won’t be hit too hard with cuts is the QM2, QM5, QM6, QM15 and possibly the QM20. The QM24,QM25 and it’s 3rd Ave variants are probably safe too. 
I think they might actually increase QM3 service if they don’t flat out eliminate it. 
The QM4 I can see it’s off peak service being eliminated and possibly it’s weekend service too. 
I think they might try to straighten the QM5 to get it off of Union Turnpike.

Coming from Manhattan I can see it running on Queens Blvd then via (LIE) Horace Harding, 188th street, 73rd Ave and then it’s normal route to 260th. 

So the QM1 might be eliminated all together.

I can see Queens Blvd service on the QM18 being eliminated.

I think the QM11, X63 might be eliminated as well. They would most likely modify the QM21 and extend it to Rosedale.

As far as the X68 and X64 and the rest of the express routes I don’t know.

 

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11 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Yes, I should been a bit more specific. However, Q4,5,83,84,85, 111, 113, 114 I see cuts in service and since those parts of Queens are heavy dollar van territory I would expect more vans in those areas. 

I already know I'm gonna be waiting longer than I already do for the Q113/Q114 after this redesign shindig blows over.

Guess I'll just start walking from Far Rockaway Mott Avenue to work now...and get used to it.

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12 minutes ago, Axis said:

I already know I'm gonna be waiting longer than I already do for the Q113/Q114 after this redesign shindig blows over.

Guess I'll just start walking from Far Rockaway Mott Avenue to work now...and get used to it.

Well if you want you can start doing that now with that no-show on the Q44 SBS, after all it ain't as if the route has 24 Hour Service... 🤷‍♂️ 😄

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4 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

The only Queens express bus routes that I think won’t be hit too hard with cuts is the QM2, QM5, QM6, QM15 and possibly the QM20. The QM24,QM25 and it’s 3rd Ave variants are probably safe too. 
I think they might actually increase QM3 service if they don’t flat out eliminate it. 
The QM4 I can see it’s off peak service being eliminated and possibly it’s weekend service too. 
I think they might try to straighten the QM5 to get it off of Union Turnpike.

Coming from Manhattan I can see it running on Queens Blvd then via (LIE) Horace Harding, 188th street, 73rd Ave and then it’s normal route to 260th. 

So the QM1 might be eliminated all together.

I can see Queens Blvd service on the QM18 being eliminated.

I think the QM11, X63 might be eliminated as well. They would most likely modify the QM21 and extend it to Rosedale.

As far as the X68 and X64 and the rest of the express routes I don’t know.

Just like with the Bronx expresses, the easy target will be off-peak service (in general)....

I don't think they'll go too crazy with eliminating whole routes, but at the same time, what do we have to be optimistic about anymore.....

 

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16 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

The only Queens express bus routes that I think won’t be hit too hard with cuts is the QM2, QM5, QM6, QM15 and possibly the QM20. The QM24,QM25 and it’s 3rd Ave variants are probably safe too. 
I think they might actually increase QM3 service if they don’t flat out eliminate it. 
The QM4 I can see it’s off peak service being eliminated and possibly it’s weekend service too. 
I think they might try to straighten the QM5 to get it off of Union Turnpike.

Coming from Manhattan I can see it running on Queens Blvd then via (LIE) Horace Harding, 188th street, 73rd Ave and then it’s normal route to 260th. 

So the QM1 might be eliminated all together.

I can see Queens Blvd service on the QM18 being eliminated.

I think the QM11, X63 might be eliminated as well. They would most likely modify the QM21 and extend it to Rosedale.

As far as the X68 and X64 and the rest of the express routes I don’t know.

picku 

You really think there's a chance they'd expand QM3 service?  Any idea if those 6 runs a day get good usage? 

I think the QM5 would benefit from turning right on 188th, keeping the 73rd Ave and 186th Ln, 64 Ave, and Horace Harding Stops and then going nonstop to the city via the LIE/Service Road to give the people in Glen Oaks some relief from having to pick up on Union Turnpike and go back up to the LIE via Queens Boulevard.  Then the QM6 would just keep the regular routing and pick up on Union and go via Queens Blvd.  You would only lose service at the 188th/75th Ave stop, and honestly, I could see that stop being cut because it's a short walk to 73rd or Union Turnpike which are the next closest stops.  

The problem with these Southeast Queens runs are that they are just so far from the city and there's so much traffic over there too.  The Van Wyck always is bumper to bumper, and then these buses have to crawl up Queens Boulevard.  It could easily take upwards of 2 hours to get back to SE Queens on a normal night.

Edited by ViaWaterViaChurch
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10 hours ago, ViaWaterViaChurch said:

You really think there's a chance they'd expand QM3 service?  Any idea if those 6 runs a day get good usage? 

I think the QM5 would benefit from turning right on 188th, keeping the 73rd Ave and 186th Ln, 64 Ave, and Horace Harding Stops and then going nonstop to the city via the LIE/Service Road to give the people in Glen Oaks some relief from having to pick up on Union Turnpike and go back up to the LIE via Queens Boulevard.  Then the QM6 would just keep the regular routing and pick up on Union and go via Queens Blvd.  You would only lose service at the 188th/75th Ave stop, and honestly, I could see that stop being cut because it's a short walk to 73rd or Union Turnpike which are the next closest stops.  

The problem with these Southeast Queens runs are that they are just so far from the city and there's so much traffic over there too.  The Van Wyck always is bumper to bumper, and then these buses have to crawl up Queens Boulevard.  It could easily take upwards of 2 hours to get back to SE Queens on a normal night.

The only reason why I think they might expand service on the QM3 is because it would be a cost neutral move. Meaning that they would get rid of service from other routes and add a few more runs to the QM3. 
Cause at this point if they just leave it the same they might as well eliminate the QM3 and use it’s resources elsewhere. The areas that the QM3 serves are areas in which I think people would actually use the express bus. Yeah there is always those that say that the LIRR is nearby but the LIRR stops are more spread out and doesn’t serve the neighborhoods as well as the QM3 does with its amount of stops.

Edited by NewFlyer 230
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On 11/10/2019 at 8:02 PM, checkmatechamp13 said:

At the meetings, Byford says "ideally we want them on our buses instead of the vans and we want to make our service more attractive". We'll see if that comes to fruition

At least he acknowledges that the vans are more attractive than the SLOW buses. 

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  • 1 month later...
Just now, jaf0519 said:

Looks like the Queens Redesign Draft Plan will be released later today. Article says there will be a public meeting today at 5:30 PM at Queens Borough Hall.

https://queenscountypolitics.com/2019/12/16/queens-lawmakers-on-the-move-dec-16-2019/

I'm curious to see what they changed...will there be a live stream or will it be released on the site at 5:30 PM?

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5 hours ago, jaf0519 said:

Looks like the Queens Redesign Draft Plan will be released later today. Article says there will be a public meeting today at 5:30 PM at Queens Borough Hall.

https://queenscountypolitics.com/2019/12/16/queens-lawmakers-on-the-move-dec-16-2019/

Doesn't look like the plan will be released tonight.  On the facebook group for express buses, a guy was tweeting from the meeting tonight.  His name is JimRockway and if you look on his twitter he was releasing a couple of juicy tidbits.  He says the plan will be released December 30th, bus routes were scrapped completely and redone from scratch, and express service off peak will be getting chopped.  I would suggest taking a look on his twitter to see for yourself, he uploaded some pictures from the meeting.

Edited by ViaWaterViaChurch
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QT and QMT?  Talk about adding pointless letters to a alphanumeric system that kind of made sense already.

Some interesting changes in NE Queens.  New N-S routes on 154th Street and Utopia Parkway.  Q15 service cut from Powells Cove.  Looks like they're going to revamp the Q34 and bring it down Willets Point to Fort Totten and Powells Cove.  They're cutting service to the Mitchell/Linden condos.  Q76 will replace the Q20A and what looks like part of the Q25 by looping back to Flushing.  The Q65/25 have some weird merge now in College Point.  14 Ave service from the Q65 was cut and replaced by some sort of crosstown bus that could be an extended Q20B.

This will be a lot to digest when it comes out.

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9 minutes ago, 7-express said:

QT and QMT?  Talk about adding pointless letters to a alphanumeric system that kind of made sense already.

Some interesting changes in NE Queens.  New N-S routes on 154th Street and Utopia Parkway.  Q15 service cut from Powells Cove.  Looks like they're going to revamp the Q34 and bring it down Willets Point to Fort Totten and Powells Cove.  They're cutting service to the Mitchell/Linden condos.  Q76 will replace the Q20A and what looks like part of the Q25 by looping back to Flushing.  The Q65/25 have some weird merge now in College Point.  14 Ave service from the Q65 was cut and replaced by some sort of crosstown bus that could be an extended Q20B.

This will be a lot to digest when it comes out.

I think it’s to help with people finding their buses instead of just keeping the Q prefix. 
 

seems like they’re merging routes into one to create more direct routes. 

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