| Queens Boulevard is one of several similarly designed, multi-lane, multi-medianed thoroughfares strewn about the 5 boroughs of NYC. It was first widened in the 1920's, when it was renamed from Hoffman Road and modeled on the Grand Concourse of the Bronx, which itself was an Americanized attempt to echo the great promenades and boulevards of France. Other cousins of this expansive roadway include Brooklyn's Linden Blvd, Kings Highway, Eastern and Ocean Parkways, the Richmond Hill section of Woodhaven Boulevard, a short section of Little Neck Pkwy, the pre expressway Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx and pre expressway Horace Harding Boulevard that ran from Queens Boulevard out to the Nassau County line. It is my considered opinion that the city planned almost from the beginning to transform most of these roads into actual limited access highways, and that widening the right of way was just the snide preliminary step to securing the area necessary for an elevated, multilane structure. Woodhaven was supposed to be, more or less over at least part of its winding path, the Maspeth Expressway, while Linden was probably the intended ROW for the never built Cross-Brooklyn Expressway. It's also fair to speculate that the Jackie Robinson Parkway, formerly the Interboro, was going to continue through East New York into Eastern Parkway, while Ocean Parkway was also slated to become a highway down to the Belt. Queens Blvd was the center of my childhood universe and probably sparked my initial streetlight interest. It was just so big! Now of course, in a less big-friendly age, that is the problem. The Grand are no longer politically correct and anything qualifying as grand must be chopped down to size. It was over the last couple of years that the inherent dangers to pedestrians along this road became a cause celebre, and with each additional accident and fatality, the cries grew ever louder. The death toll suddenly spiked over this winter of 2000-2001, and now local press have tagged this great artery as the Boulevard of Death. More forgiving sorts simply refer to it as the Boulevard of Broken Bones. Doubtless, some major realignment of the three median strips must be effected so that all pedestrians feel they have a safe place to wait out a light before completing their trip, but some of the reaction to the accidents has gone past the hysterical. Too many crossers try to beat lights, or even ignore them, don't look before they cross, and, well, what else need I say; many are just plain careless. I'm one of them, having hurtled across against a light in order to catch a bus on the other side, when I knew I'd be waiting over a half an hour for the next one. I promise not to blame the driver if I'm killed doing so the next time. I'm all for reasonable safety measures, but this is a major arterial leading towards Manhattan; it's not 69th Avenue or Booth Street. Some lunatics have demanded speed bumps be installed. I think that ultimately, cross bridges have to be built at various intervals, and subway entrance stairwells replaced with ramps, better lighting and full time supervision so that they can be safely used where they exist as crossing tunnels. Another idea I propose is All-Way red lights so that all pedestrians have at least a little time free of any vehicles to get at least part of the way across. Some dangerous intersections elsewhere, like Flatbush/Nostrand, have this. The subway prevents lowering the 6 center lanes into an open cut, so the only other way to get rid of dangerous grade crossings would be to elevate them, creating the very hideous elevated expressway that this road probably had planned for itself at one time. Let's face it Queens; you wouldn't want such an elevated, polluting eyesore in your midst and no such highway is getting built anyway. Learn to live with the boulevard pretty much as it is and use common sense rather than stubborness when crossing. UPDATE: Spring 2001: Parking meters are going up along the left median curbs of the service roads between Elmhurst and Kew Gardens. The move is intended to slow service road traffic by narrowing the arteries, so to speak. I know the DOT's intentions are good, but I see too many flaws in the plan. 1: The median strips are too narrow, and offer only one point of egress in many places due to cutouts allowing traffic to pass between the service and center lanes. 2: Many people parking in the middle of long blocks will jaywalk across the one remaining lane of traffic from their cars to the sidewalk, defeating the whole safety purpose of the plan. In addition, should this result in more jaywalking tickets, the outrage and backlash will kill boulevard businesses and increase the cynical mistrust many in these neighborhoods already feel for the authorities involved. 3: While removing two lanes of traffic that need to be crossed, it will greatly increase congestion, especially since nothing will ever stop people from double parking. Parked vehicles will also become obstacles to vision, especially when vans and SUVs park at the corners, and cars backing into and out of tight spots will invariably end up hitting pedestrians. 4: Incidents of road rage and arguments between those stopping to back into a spot and those being held up by them are going to become a non stop nightmare for cops and passersby alike. |
© 2001, Jeff Saltzman. All rights reserved.
