Jackson Heights Life

Mayor Bloomberg was the one who proposed "congestion pricing."
London has had it since 2003, he got that idea from there.

I agree that congestion pricing would have been great for the city. 

But here's one thing to keep in mind: congestion pricing was not about penalizing drivers.  It would have encouraged a small percentage of discretionary drivers to use alternatives, dramatically reduced congestion on our city's streets and highways, raised revenue for the first significant expansion of transit services in a generation, and relieved taxpayers of the burden of maintaining the city's bridges.  Aside from the parking lot lobby and the Queens Chamber of Commerce, nearly every civic, environmental, social justice, business, and labor group in the city and all three of the city's major newspapers supported the proposal. 

Now the tabloids are selling a lot of papers trying to spin the city's latest proposals as anti-car, but these proposals would benefit drivers and non-drivers alike.  The city's current ideas for Jackson Heights will alleviate chronic traffic congestion on 73rd Street, reduce the number of cars double-parking on 37th Avenue, speed bus riders' trips to the terminal, help pedestrians cross Roosevelt Avenue more safely, and provide the neighborhood with a great new public square.  Some people hate change, and inevitably there will be distraught headlines, stories about the city declaring war on one group or another, and predictions of chaos when the city begins to implement these recommendations.  But the DOT has developed a balanced proposal based on extensive community input that improves our neighborhood streets for everybody.  The more we can do now to learn about the proposals, provide constructive feedback, and let our elected officials know we support the city's plans, the greater chance we'll see them implemented successfully.

A problem I have is all this car talk.  I grew up in car country and, when I moved to NYC, I sold my car.  Haven't missed it since.  The idea of being car-dependent in NYC is crazy.  It seems people want to live this suburban lifestyle in an urban area.  We really need to push for better and more frequent mass-transit.  More pedestrian-only streets, more bike lanes, more car-restricted areas.  In many European cities cars are discouraged.  People own cars but they are used for travel outside the city not for driving around town.  Gas prices are very high which discourages driving.  Because more people are out walking, using public transportation, biking, these cities feel more like villages.  The necessities tend to be closer because people walk or bike to the stores.  Now, don't get me wrong, I like cars and enjoy driving but we rent cars when we want to leave the city or need one for special occasions.  My two cents.

I agree with every word.  Not having a car is a true luxury!  It's so freeing never to have to worry about gas, parking, insurance and all the other hassles.  We should have city policies that make cars LESS attractive and public transit MORE attractive for everybody. 

It is so important for residents to get involved, and to watch out for changes that favor vehicles over pedestrians.

Nearly ten years ago DOT wanted to make 37th Ave go one way in one direction, and Roosevelt one way in the opposite direction. They claimed it would increase vehicular traffic speed. Quite so, JH would have become a rat run for BQE-to-Grand Expressway traffic, and we would have had highspeed car racetracks running through the heart of our community to rival Manhattan boulevards. Frighteningly (for me), there were only about 50 local residents at the consultation meeting where this was proposed; but, thankfully, we all made our feelings so strongly vocal that they gave up on the idea. Phew!

I am glad these proposals do consider pedestrians and bicycles.

CB3 has now voted to support NYCDOT's recommendations:
http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/jackson-heights/2011/06/20/queens-cb-3-votes-in-support-of-improvement-plan-implementation-tracking-available-soon/

About a couple of years ago they were going to vote on making 74th St one way(northbound)from
Queens Blvd to Woodside Ave, nothing came of it. I figured it was somebody with some influence
who made them scrap the plan.

They made 43rd Ave one way from 76th St to 69th St, but left 44th Ave the same(a 2 way street).
Why are 72nd and 74th Sts the only 2 way streets between 45th Ave/Queens Blvd and Broadway.
All the others from 76th St to 82nd St are one way.
Exclude 75th St because that street has the median in the middle.

It's a little hard to read, but it looks like 75th Street will become a southbound street with a bus line.

I heard that they want to merge the Q45 with the Q47(Atlas Park to Marine Air Terminal).
The line would be known as the Q47, which would go southbound on 75th St, right on 41st Ave.
Left on 69th St? They would need to make that stretch of 41st Ave one way in my opinion, it's
too narrow as it is now with 2 way traffic.

41st Ave runs parallel to Roosevelt Ave, one block south, no lights on that part(75th St-69th St).

Implementation of the recommendations is starting to move forward.   New muni meter footings have been installed on 74th Street, and some of the great new bicycle parking posts have been completed on 35th Avenue.

DOT will be tracking its progress implementing the plan at its Jackson Heights Portal.