New York City’s Department of Transportation revealed a potential new plan to redesign McGuinness Boulevard.
After Mayor Eric Adams asked the agency to rethink its initial redesign, the DOT came up with a new option that combines parts of other previously considered plans, THE CITY‘s Gwynne Hogan has now reported. The agency presented the proposal to members of both Make McGuinness Safe and Keep McGuinness Moving at a two-hour-long meeting on July 31.
The new plan combines plans A and B, which the DOT presented to the community last summer. The agency initially favored plan B, removing a traffic lane in either direction and adding bike lanes and parking, which would be implemented along the entire corridor.
Now, the DOT has proposed implementing plan B for the ten blocks between the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Greenpoint Avenue. For the seven blocks north of Greenpoint Avenue, plan A will take effect: “protected bike lanes, and a flex parking lane, open for traffic during rush hour so street is two lanes in either direction, and reduced to one lane in either direction, to allow parking off hours.”
Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez allegedly told the meeting attendees that leaving the street in its current state “is not an option.”
It is unclear when work on the project will commence. Streetsblog NYC reports that “[o]fficials did not give attendees a timeline for the project, but noted that it will be too cold to repaint the street after road marking season ends in the fall — which the source took to mean officials aim to complete the project this year.”
After the tragic hit-and-run accident that killed beloved teacher Matthew Jensen in 2021, the de Blasio administration greenlit the DOT to redesign the busy thoroughfare. The agency landed on the Plan B option in May. In response, an oppositional campaign mounted in full force, leading to a town-hall-style private meeting between the Keep McGuinness Safe supporters and city officials. Mayor Adams said at a recent press conference that the response from the meeting swayed him to call for a compromise. However, several outlets have also reported on the influence of lobbying from some of his closest advisors.
Representatives from the Make McGuinness Safe group will meet with the mayor later today.
They should just take one lane of parking away on the East bound side. The bike lane that took up one lane but goes in both directions on the Pulaski would continue there. No reason to take up more than one lane for bikes.
So when the Pulaski is up, it’ll be a two mile parking lot.
DOT is always detached from reality.
Hopefully this compromise get the DOT to actually do something already – there’s no reason it should be taking this long. The car worshipers can fetishize a bygone era all they want, the vast majority of constituents want this abomination gone already. Tear down the BQE once your done giving this monstrosity a diet.
Fetishize? See, this attitude is why there is a constant fight. This is not just about cars. It is about businesses and trucks needing to get off the side streets and stay on the busy, industrial street that McGuiness was meant to be.
Does anyone really believe that things are getting better in New York?
Bike lanes in both directions would facilitate more people than car lanes. And, as has been proven over and over again, would be a boon to local businesses and the economy. As a pro-business New Yorker, I say the more bike lanes the better. Brings more customers to my shop AND makes my commute faster.
your’e so smart, did you go to bike college?
Really you think bike lanes make streets safer? Think again genius, right now the added bike lanes already in place are a menace by all the unlicensed illegals mopeds scooters e-bikes and uber eats and doordash road warriors.
Totally disagree with you Marcus. Bicycle lanes do not decrease danger to pedestrians, it increases it because it is unregulated and more dangerous to pedestrians. Additionally, people using bicyclist purchase less from businesses as they are limited to how much they can manage and carry with their bicycle. If you really want a safer McGuinness Blvd then you should pushing for more speed cameras, speed bumps, longer crossing times, and a police presence from time to time on the Boulevard.
While they’re deliberating why not start the greenpoint Ave and south construction/painting. More North of Greenpoint Ave would be great but it seems like everyone is in favor of Greenpoint Ave and south at least