De Blasio Wants To Transform Dangerous Queens Road Into 'Boulevard Of Life'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The city is investing $100 million to transform Queens Boulevard from the "boulevard of death" into the "boulevard of life," Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.
Since 1990, there have been 185 fatalities on Queens Boulevard, which has long been known as the "Boulevard of Death."
Lizi Rahman, whose 22-year-old son was killed while riding his bike on the roadway, has been lobbying the city to improve Queens Boulevard since her son's death in 2008.
De Blasio Wants To Transform Dangerous Queens Road Into 'Boulevard Of Life'
"If there was a bike lane, it would be safer for him, maybe he would still be alive," Rahman said.
The redesign, which is part of the mayor's "Vision Zero" safety initiative, will bring safer and shorter pedestrian crossings, wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes to the road.
"Work has begun to turn Queens Boulevard into a 'Boulevard of Life,' literally remaking this street, rewriting its future, making it safe for all," de Blasio said. "No longer will anyone's life be threatened simply by virtue of walking or biking or driving on this street."
Queens Boulevard To Get $100 Million Makeover
Pedestrians will have a shorter distance and enough time to cross the street, de Blasio said.
"Drivers will find a smoother and slower, but still better drive because things will make more sense," the mayor said. "We're going to change the whole configuration of Queens Boulevard to make the traffic move more slowly."
The work will begin on a 1.3-mile stretch of Queens Boulevard between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street in Woodside, where six people were killed between 2009 and 2013.
Work will then continue along the 7-mile corridor for the next two and a half years.
