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Update on Plan to move Q60 stops to the Median


Union Tpke

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On 9/30/2019 at 12:40 AM, P3F said:

No, you didn't. The thread title is "Update on Plan to move Q60 stops to the Median", and what you actually wrote doesn't indicate anything about bike lanes. There is no way anyone reading the thread could glean that you are "furious" specifically about the bike lanes.

If you're trying to imply that I'm against the bike lanes, nice try. I am ambivalent about them because I do not visit Queens Boulevard enough to know of the traffic dynamics there. Either way, this isn't the place for that discussion.

 

My original question was "What are the benefits of moving the bus stops to the median?", because I was under the impression that you had some benefits in mind. If you have nothing further to say about that topic, there is no more discussion to be had.

I created this thread with the Q60 change in mind. In the presentation, was the NYCDOT's first acknowledgement that the project was indefinitely on hold, which is why I mentioned it in this thread.

It clearly had to do about the bike lanes. I said "I am so furious that the final operational phase from Yellowstone Boulevard to Union Turnpike is on hold. Karen Koslowitz, you will have blood on your hands!"

There has been no talk of moving the Q60 to the center lanes for this phase. The operational phase has not even started, so clearly, the bus improvements, which would be made as part of the capital phase, are not yet planne.d

I was not trying to imply that you were against the bus lanes.

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On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 9:08 PM, aemoreira81 said:

.....I would go even further and add a protected bus lane from Van Dam Street to Roosevelt Avenue (with a special turn signal for the Q32 to cut across traffic to make a left turn), which would also serve to calm traffic by reducing Queens Boulevard from 4 lanes each way along each section to 3. (Through Woodside, one has fixed speed cameras patrolling the main road in the 50s because of a private elementary school at about 55th Street.) One would have to keep the Q60 on the service road through Woodside and past the Big Six Towers because of BQE access on the westbound side,  However, between 76/Kneeland and 57 Avenue, and again after 62 Drive, the Q60 should be in the main roadway, which would again serve as traffic calming by reducing travel lanes.

Come on, this is just being extra for the sake of being extra....

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 2:57 PM, danielhg121 said:

It's their way of speeding up bus service LOL. I can imagine riding the bus and seeing seniors wave their canes as the bus speeds through their stop on the median (a bit of a stretch...). LESS PEOPLE GET ON...THE BETTER. It's the MTA's new way of deterring ridership. JK

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks !
(too bad it's never to the benefit of commuters though)

On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 7:50 PM, Union Tpke said:

I created this thread with the Q60 change in mind. In the presentation, was the NYCDOT's first acknowledgement that the project was indefinitely on hold, which is why I mentioned it in this thread.

It clearly had to do about the bike lanes. I said "I am so furious that the final operational phase from Yellowstone Boulevard to Union Turnpike is on hold. Karen Koslowitz, you will have blood on your hands!"

There has been no talk of moving the Q60 to the center lanes for this phase. The operational phase has not even started, so clearly, the bus improvements, which would be made as part of the capital phase, are not yet planned....

I see his point..... Unless anyone was already (as) privy to the QB project, they had to check the PDF to figure out what your comment was alluding to....

I don't think you were necessarily or were intentionally trying to be misleading... Although you just can't assume that readers'll know what you're referring to, when you make a separate point from that of the thread title (although both involve the same project) though.....

Hell, I checked the PDF regardless, so AFAIC it's a non-issue.

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I honestly trust the Q32 and Q60 to get me into Queens more than the QBL. The former is pretty fast during overnight hours, the later makes getting home a slog for me. 

I think this whole bikelane nonsense is all part of a plan to get people to bike to work.

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2 hours ago, NY1635 said:

I think this whole bike lane nonsense is all part of a plan to get people to bike to work.

Combination of two things:

- an effort to get more people to use every inch of the city's roads ("the road isn't just for motorists"... and we already know the common complaints w/ the buses & the subway)

- a bit of pandering to tourists and/or those otherwise having an extended stay in this city (visiting relatives, vacation, gentrification, etc.)...

 

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3 hours ago, NY1635 said:

I honestly trust the Q32 and Q60 to get me into Queens more than the QBL. The former is pretty fast during overnight hours, the later makes getting home a slog for me. 

I think this whole bikelane nonsense is all part of a plan to get people to bike to work.

Too much construction bottleneck on the QBL during the late night hours thus making both lines pretty fast at night. However, there’s too much enforcement from Elmhurst to Forest Hills. Also, not to say there is enough on the LIC end of the Boulevard. 

As far as the bike lane situation. Please forgive my ignorance with my lack of knowledge of Forest Hills but here’s the real problem. The Department if Transportation is just simply creating havoc for no apparent reason and i will leave just that. 

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The bike lane is basically a Trojan horse to narrow the road to make it safer, because let's be real, crossing Queens Blvd was always crappy, and people were dying on a fairly regular basis.

If it were truly supposed to be an effective bike lane, I certainly wouldn't have put it so that it intersects with every slip lane on and off the main road...

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On 10/5/2019 at 2:54 PM, bobtehpanda said:

The bike lane is basically a Trojan horse to narrow the road to make it safer, because let's be real, crossing Queens Blvd was always crappy, and people were dying on a fairly regular basis.

If it were truly supposed to be an effective bike lane, I certainly wouldn't have put it so that it intersects with every slip lane on and off the main road...

How would you design the bike lane then?

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10 minutes ago, NY1635 said:

The Q60 doesn't need bike lanes. All it does is make is make the trip between Rego Center, QCM and Manhattan even slower. Those Taxis on the other hand needs to be kicked out of those places.

What I would do is remove the Q60 from South Jamaica and have some short turns at Queens Plaza. Those who want service to 2nd Ave can alternate between the Q32 and Q101 as well. 

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54 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

What I would do is remove the Q60 from South Jamaica and have some short turns at Queens Plaza. Those who want service to 2nd Ave can alternate between the Q32 and Q101 as well. 

Hell, if it were up to me, the only other choice would be the Q32.... As much as I think there really isn't too pressing a need for the Q32 to run to Midtown anymore (especially considering inbound usage into Manhattan these days), I'd still keep it around on the Manhattan end....

The Q60, I would have every other bus or so run into Manhattan.... Running into Manhattan exacerbates the level of bunching that goes on along the route (I'd say it's the main cause of it)....

The Q101 I would completely discontinue from serving Manhattan... Those peak crowds don't fool me; it's a result of buses along the route running like complete bascura (as @Future ENY OP would say)... Nevermind Steinway st. being a complete drag - Somehow, without fail, buses just up & go missing along that route & I could never understand it....

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24 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Hell, if it were up to me, the only other choice would be the Q32.... As much as I think there really isn't too pressing a need for the Q32 to run to Midtown anymore (especially considering inbound usage into Manhattan these days), I'd still keep it around on the Manhattan end....

The Q60, I would have every other bus or so run into Manhattan.... Running into Manhattan exacerbates the level of bunching that goes on along the route (I'd say it's the main cause of it)....

The Q101 I would completely discontinue from serving Manhattan... Those peak crowds don't fool me; it's a result of buses along the route running like complete bascura (as @Future ENY OP would say)... Nevermind Steinway st. being a complete drag - Somehow, without fail, buses just up & go missing along that route & I could never understand it....

The Q32 gets usage among people who don't want to do the (7) into Manhattan and deal with the crowding

I keep forgetting that the Q101 exists. I didn't really notice it until my boss brought it up, she lives in Ditmars. 

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16 minutes ago, NY1635 said:

The Q32 gets usage among people who don't want to do the (7) into Manhattan and deal with the crowding

I keep forgetting that the Q101 exists. I didn't really notice it until my boss brought it up, she lives in Ditmars. 

Yes, and the amt. of people doing it has waned.... Too much traffic, too much construction, too much BS... Don't know whether to find it comical or sad that by time Manhattan bound buses reach 5th, it's basically carrying air.

The Q101 I simply have no use for these days & don't really care enough to want to 'fan it much either; One of those, if it's right there, I might take it for the f*** of it, sort of ordeal.... But yeah, very forgettable route if you don't live around it...

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3 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Hell, if it were up to me, the only other choice would be the Q32.... As much as I think there really isn't too pressing a need for the Q32 to run to Midtown anymore (especially considering inbound usage into Manhattan these days), I'd still keep it around on the Manhattan end....

The Q60, I would have every other bus or so run into Manhattan.... Running into Manhattan exacerbates the level of bunching that goes on along the route (I'd say it's the main cause of it)....

The Q101 I would completely discontinue from serving Manhattan... Those peak crowds don't fool me; it's a result of buses along the route running like complete bascura (as @Future ENY OP would say)... Nevermind Steinway st. being a complete drag - Somehow, without fail, buses just up & go missing along that route & I could never understand it....

My coworker who lives in Sunnyside suggested it run over the 39th Street bridge (crossing Sunnyside Yard). I actually agree with that. It would be a bit of dead mileage in that area but it's no worse than the dead mileage on the Q104 (along 48th), and it would provide a bit of a crosstown route in that area (personally I'm not a fan of having so many routes pass through QBP. Working right by the B32, I can see why the MTA decided to only run it as far as Court Square.

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1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

My coworker who lives in Sunnyside suggested it run over the 39th Street bridge (crossing Sunnyside Yard). I actually agree with that. It would be a bit of dead mileage in that area but it's no worse than the dead mileage on the Q104 (along 48th), and it would provide a bit of a crosstown route in that area (personally I'm not a fan of having so many routes pass through QBP. Working right by the B32, I can see why the MTA decided to only run it as far as Court Square.

Yeah, so it won't to deal with the shitshow that is Queens Plaza.... Easy come, easy go.....

Anyway, you don't even have to pull on another route to make the point - you can use the Q101 itself! Its entire stint along Northern amounts to dead mileage.... But be there as it may, run the Q101 down 39th, to eventually have it do what?

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3 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

My coworker who lives in Sunnyside suggested it run over the 39th Street bridge (crossing Sunnyside Yard). I actually agree with that. It would be a bit of dead mileage in that area but it's no worse than the dead mileage on the Q104 (along 48th), and it would provide a bit of a crosstown route in that area (personally I'm not a fan of having so many routes pass through QBP. Working right by the B32, I can see why the MTA decided to only run it as far as Court Square.

The MTA should extend those B32 trips to Astoria along Vernon Blvd. It can avoid the dreaded Queens Plaza and get there in time. 

Not to fond of sending anything along Sunnyside unless it's a thru route. It's an industrial area, but not as insidious as Industrial Maspeth.

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10 hours ago, NY1635 said:

The MTA should extend those B32 trips to Astoria along Vernon Blvd. It can avoid the dreaded Queens Plaza and get there in time....

The Brooklyn waterfront should be connected to Astoria & eastern Williamsburg (not to be confused with East Williamsburg, the neighborhood).... Those folks along the waterfront don't really frequent the immediate area around WBP & have no use for the bus connections available there.... Don't even have to mention that the (L) is king there & the (J) may as well not even exist for them....

I would exploit the fact that there's no connection to the (G) & the (N).... B32 (or whatever the route would be called) wouldn't even have to serve Queens Plaza.....

Besides, the fact that the SB Q69 only serves QBP, but the NB Q69 doubles back to serve Court Sq. after having served/originated at QBP is impractical & doesn't make much sense IMO.... The part of Astoria that Vernon Blvd. lies within, isn't the part that should be served with a bus from the Brooklyn waterfront, though.....

10 hours ago, NY1635 said:

Not to fond of sending anything along Sunnyside unless it's a thru route. It's an industrial area, but not as insidious as Industrial Maspeth.

Common misconception, but Sunnyside is not industrial... Nothing south of the LIE is considered Sunnyside (they'll go out of their way to tell you that too).... Quite sure you're thinking of Maspeth itself or the lesser known Blissville....

Anyway, I don't particularly take an issue with a route running down 39th, but where would said route terminate after serving it, is the question....

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22 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Hell, if it were up to me, the only other choice would be the Q32.... As much as I think there really isn't too pressing a need for the Q32 to run to Midtown anymore (especially considering inbound usage into Manhattan these days), I'd still keep it around on the Manhattan end....

The Q60, I would have every other bus or so run into Manhattan.... Running into Manhattan exacerbates the level of bunching that goes on along the route (I'd say it's the main cause of it)....

The Q101 I would completely discontinue from serving Manhattan... Those peak crowds don't fool me; it's a result of buses along the route running like complete bascura (as @Future ENY OP would say)... Nevermind Steinway st. being a complete drag - Somehow, without fail, buses just up & go missing along that route & I could never understand it....

Personally, I'd do a Q60 Local/Limited Split Service starting from Sutphin/Archer, down to QBP. Local Buses Terminal at/or near the QBP area while Limited's continue to 2nd Avenue. 

Q101 Service in My opinion, should bypass QBP and head straight for Hunters Point.  

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5 hours ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

Personally, I'd do a Q60 Local/Limited Split Service starting from Sutphin/Archer, down to QBP. Local Buses Terminal at/or near the QBP area while Limited's continue to 2nd Avenue. 

Q101 Service in My opinion, should bypass QBP and head straight for Hunters Point.  

Not a good idea. People in South Jamaica use the Q60 when the Q6 isn't showing up, or if they want to get into Manhattan without xfering to the (E) at Jamaica Railroad Station.  Even more so with the construction still going on around Downtown Jamaica

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On 10/8/2019 at 1:54 PM, B35 via Church said:

Hell, if it were up to me, the only other choice would be the Q32.... As much as I think there really isn't too pressing a need for the Q32 to run to Midtown anymore (especially considering inbound usage into Manhattan these days), I'd still keep it around on the Manhattan end....

The Q60, I would have every other bus or so run into Manhattan.... Running into Manhattan exacerbates the level of bunching that goes on along the route (I'd say it's the main cause of it)....

The Q101 I would completely discontinue from serving Manhattan... Those peak crowds don't fool me; it's a result of buses along the route running like complete bascura (as @Future ENY OP would say)... Nevermind Steinway st. being a complete drag - Somehow, without fail, buses just up & go missing along that route & I could never understand it....

The Q32 has decent usage going towards Queens, but I always noticed Manhattan travel is weak especially on 5th Ave. 

I wonder if having it travel along 59th street would make it more useful to Columbus Circle. It could be a decent alternative to the (R)
 

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30 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

The Q32 has decent usage going towards Queens, but I always noticed Manhattan travel is weak especially on 5th Ave. 

I wonder if having it travel along 59th street would make it more useful to Columbus Circle. It could be a decent alternative to the (R)
 

People don't want to backtrack to 5th when the (F) and (M) are on 6th. The Q32 is used more by people who hate either the (R) at Lex/59th or the (7) at Times Square, Grand Central.

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On 10/8/2019 at 7:48 PM, B35 via Church said:

Yeah, so it won't to deal with the shitshow that is Queens Plaza.... Easy come, easy go.....

Anyway, you don't even have to pull on another route to make the point - you can use the Q101 itself! Its entire stint along Northern amounts to dead mileage.... But be there as it may, run the Q101 down 39th, to eventually have it do what?

For him, it could just stop at Queens Blvd itself for all he cares and that would be sufficient. I was thinking to end it around the LIE/Borden Avenue for the connections to the Q67 and Q39.

A part of me was thinking to have it run down Greenpoint Avenue and cover that leg of the B24, but I think that portion would be better off covered by the B32 (I'd run it from WBP to Woodside). I don't think the B32 should be used as a supplement to cover for the shortcomings of the B62.

Though thinking about it, that pretty much eliminates the last "unique" portion of the Q32. Between the Q33 in Jackson Heights, the Q60 along Queens Blvd, and the Manhattan routes it runs alongside (not to mention the 800 lb gorilla in the room of being under the (7) in Queens), they might just decide to wash their hands of the Q32 altogether.

But in any case, another option besides dead-ending at Borden could be to run it to Manhattan Avenue for the (G) or even just run it to WBP via the B32 as I originally suggested (instead of Woodside-WBP it would be Steinway/Astoria (the neighborhood not the intersection)-WBP)

BTW are you suggesting combining the B32 with the Q69? (And if so what are you suggesting for the Q100? I know in the past you mentioned restructuring it into a regular Q69 limited or something to that effect)

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6 hours ago, NY1635 said:

Not a good idea. People in South Jamaica use the Q60 when the Q6 isn't showing up, or if they want to get into Manhattan without xfering to the (E) at Jamaica Railroad Station.  Even more so with the construction still going on around Downtown Jamaica

Just improve Q6 service. Out of all the JFK routes, I think the Q6 is still one of the most unreliable. I always see large gaps in service, buses bunch up and buses that are missing. The reason why the Q60 gets the usage it does on Sutphin is because the Q6 can be terrible. Other times Q60 buses are near empty along that stretch. 

Edited by NewFlyer 230
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5 hours ago, NY1635 said:

People don't want to backtrack to 5th when the (F) and (M) are on 6th. The Q32 is used more by people who hate either the (R) at Lex/59th or the (7) at Times Square, Grand Central.

Yeah and it sometimes surprises me that a decent amount of people are riding the Q32 for the distances that they are. There are people who get on along Madison Ave and ride along Roosevelt Ave. However I don’t blame them, because the crowds on the (7) are annoying and so are the ones on the (E)  and (F) . At least on the Q32 one can expect to find a seat. Sometimes at the end of a long day I just want to sit down and relax on the way home. There is a good amount of people who also take the Q60 from 2nd Ave along Queens Blvd, especially at night when the trains start running slower. No joke there’s been instances including a few nights ago where it would take me an hour or more to ride from Lexington Ave (53rd, 59th or 63rd) to Forest Hills. The Queens Blvd line can be a nightmare and that’s why it’s a good thing the Q60 and Q32 buses exist. 

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