Traffic Deaths Drop at ‘Boulevard of Death’

DOT Announces Completion of Boulevard Redesign  

Queens Voice 

November 12, 2024

NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the completion of the sixth and final phase of the city’s transformative, Vision Zero redesign of Queens Boulevard, once known as the “Boulevard of Death.” 

The project, which began in 2015, has already resulted in a dramatic decline in traffic deaths and injuries. The final section, between Skillman and Roosevelt Avenues, includes parking-protected curbside bike lanes to enhance cyclist safety; pedestrian islands to shorten crossing distances while encouraging slower, safer turns; and additional adjustments to traffic signal timing to allow more time for pedestrian crossings before lights turn green. 

 

The redesign has brought safety enhancements along the entire length of Queens Boulevard, transforming this Vision Zero Priority Corridor into a multi-modal boulevard for seven miles from Queens Plaza to Hillside Avenue. The boulevard now features the longest continuous stretch of protected bike lanes on a New York City street.

“Queens Boulevard was known as the ‘Boulevard of Death,’ and was one of the most dangerous thoroughfares in the entire city. Now, thanks to changes to the street’s design, traffic injuries and fatalities are down and the street is safer for everyone,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “The conclusion of this project is a milestone for Vision Zero in New York City and serves as a reminder that our street redesigns save lives—regardless of whether you are biking, driving, or walking.” 

The final phase delivers safety upgrades along a mile-long section of Queen Boulevard through the heart of Sunnyside, connecting Long Island City, Queens Plaza, and the Queensboro Bridge. NYC DOT recorded 351 traffic injuries between 2019 and 2023 along this stretch of roadway. 

The project includes eight-foot-wide bike lanes–which are about two feet wider than the standard protected bike lane–to better accommodate bikes and e-bikes traveling at different speeds as well as side-by-side social cycling. 

 

Before-and-after data from NYC DOT’s previously redesigned sections of Queens Boulevard, from Skillman Avenue to Jamaica Avenue, show dramatic safety benefits: total roadway fatalities decreased by 68 percent, injuries decreased by 35 percent, and pedestrian injuries decreased by 45 percent. The addition of safe bicycle infrastructure has led to surging cycling use, with cyclist volumes increasing between 100 and 450 percent across the corridor. 

Looking Ahead

Building on its successful redesign, NYC DOT will soon start the next chapter of Queens Boulevard’s remarkable transformation. The agency will partner with the Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Environmental Protection to use $23.75 million in federal funding, along with $1.5 million in funding from Borough President Donovan Richards and Councilmember Julie Won, to upgrade the section of Queens Boulevard it first redesigned in 2015, from Roosevelt Avenue to 73rd Street, replacing the existing painted safety treatments along the corridor with capital improvements.  The project is projected to be nearly $150 million. 

Rendering of safety upgrades to come to Queens Boulevard, from Roosevelt Avenue to 73rd Street, through the federal "Safe Streets and Roads for All" grant award. Credit: NYC DOT 

The improvements will include: 

• Expanding and reconstructing the service road medians by providing a continuous, raised pedestrian mall and grade-separated bicycle path;
• Reconfiguring several slip ramps to improve safety for all road users, reduce crossing distances, and create calmer, more predictable driving behavior;
• Improving accessibility at all bus stops;
• Installing a planted buffer and vertical barrier to protect pedestrians from traffic along the mainline of Queens Boulevard;
• Adding new lighting, public seating, and landscaping. 

Construction of this capital project is expected to begin in 2025. 

 

“For far too long, Queens Boulevard has been an extremely dangerous street, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists,” said U.S. Representative Nydia M. Velázquez. “With the implementation of the final phase of the city’s redesign of Queens Boulevard along the 7-train viaduct, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike can more safely navigate this street. Thank you to New York City’s Department of Transportation for your work getting this project done.” 

“The many innovative safety improvements made during the redesign of Queens Boulevard will go a long way toward preventing the kinds of tragedies that earned this busy thoroughfare its unwanted nickname,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “Every New Yorker, no matter how they get about town, deserves to travel on safe streets. Thankfully, this redesign of Queens Boulevard has made the roadway much safer than it ever was before.  I commend the DOT for its great work on this redesign, and I look forward to seeing the implementation of the additional safety improvements along Queens Boulevard that I am so proud to have helped fund.”  

“Securing significant federal funding and transforming Queens Boulevard, once better known as the “Boulevard of Death,” is one of this administration’s biggest success stories,” said Ken Podziba, CEO of Bike New York. “We look forward to the final section being completed next year and seeing further reductions in traffic deaths and injuries. We applaud Mayor Adams and Commissioner Rodriguez for prioritizing these needed safety enhancements to Queens Boulevard, which will reduce traffic violence and improve the quality of life of cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.  We’re also thankful to the Biden-Harris administration, Borough President Richards, and Councilmember Won for providing the necessary funding to complete this final phase.” 

“We are thrilled to celebrate another phase of this project that makes Queens Boulevard safer and more accessible for all New Yorkers,” said Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director at Open Plans. “Combining protected bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, and traffic calming with amenities like plantings, lighting, and seating creates a holistic and truly livable corridor that serves for more New Yorkers that unfettered vehicle traffic. Kudos to DOT for this transformative project, which we hope will be a model for redesigning streets in every corner of the city.”

 

“Regional Plan Association (RPA) applauds NYC DOT’s completion of the Queens Boulevard redesign,” said Tiffany-Ann Taylor, Vice President for Transportation at RPA.” Safety for our city’s most vulnerable road users is essential to a healthy and sustainable system of mobility for us all. Prioritizing people over streets has long been a focus of RPA’s transportation policy and supportive advocacy in our region. Enhancing cyclist safety, designing safer turns, and allowing more time for pedestrians to cross, is something that transportation safety advocates have long called for on one of Queens’ deadliest thoroughfares. RPA looks forward to future partnerships with Commissioner Rodriguez, Borough President Richards and City Councilmembers as the City implements these improvements and begins construction to secure the promise for safer streets in Queens.”

 

“We’re ecstatic that the full length of Queens Boulevard, the former ‘Boulevard of Death,’ will be a safe place to walk and bike from LIC to Jamaica,” said Laura Shepard, Queens Organizer at Transportation Alternatives. “These new protected bike lanes in Sunnyside will provide safe, direct passage for the growing population of bike commuters. The retimed lights and pedestrian islands will finally make it safer to cross the street. We hope to see this announcement followed with a bus lane along this segment of the corridor, improved bus stops, and an expanded protected bike lane network through South Sunnyside and north/south corridors. Fixing Queens Boulevard has been a TA priority campaign for over a decade now, and it’s incredibly moving to finally turn such a deadly street into a beacon of change for the five boroughs.”