Queens Boulevard
is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Queens, connecting communities from Long Island City to Jamaica. It forms part of New York State Route 25.
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QUEENS BOULEVARD TICKETS
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Location
It runs northwest to southeast across more than half the length of the borough, starting at Crescent Street at the
Queensboro Bridge entrance in
Long Island CityNE and running through the neighborhoods of
Sunnyside,
Woodside,
Elmhurst,
Rego Park,
Forest Hills,
Kew Gardens, and
Briarwood before terminating at
Jamaica Avenue in
JamaicaNE. At , it is the one of the longest roads in Queens, and it runs through some of Queens' busiest areas. Much of the road is 12 lanes wide, and at its intersection with Yellowstone Boulevard in
Forest Hills, it reaches a high point of 16 lanes. Along much of its length, the road includes both six express lanes (three in each direction) and a service road on each side. Drivers must first exit to the service road in order to make right turns or pull over; left turns must be made from the express lanes, but only at select cross-streets.
This street hosts one of the highest numbers of
New York City Subway services in the city. At any one time, six services—the E, F, G, R, V, and the 7—all use significant stretches of the right of way; only
Broadway (nine services),
Sixth Avenue (seven), and
Seventh Avenue (seven) in
Manhattan and
Fulton Street (eight) and
Flatbush Avenue (six) in
Brooklyn carry more at any one time. In addition, the
Q60 bus travels its entire length.
History
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Queens Boulevard was built in the early 20th century to connect the new
Queensboro Bridge to central Queens, thereby offering an easy outlet from Manhattan. It was created by linking and expanding already-existing streets, such as Thomson Avenue and Hoffman Boulevard, stubs of which still exist. It was widened along with the digging of the
IND Queens Boulevard Line subway tunnels in the 1920s and 1930s, and some
[who?] speculated the plan was to transform it into a
freeway, as was done with the
Van Wyck Expressway. The city actually did propose converting it in 1941, but with the onset of
World War II, the plan was never completed.
The combination of Queens Boulevard's immense width, heavy automobile traffic, and thriving commercial scene made it the most dangerous thoroughfare in New York City and earned it citywide notoriety and morbid nicknames such as
"The Boulevard of Death"
[1] and "The Boulevard of Broken Bones." From 1993 to 2000, 72 pedestrians were killed trying to cross the street, an average of 10.2 per year, with countless more injuries. Since 2001, at least partially in response to major news coverage of the danger, the city government has taken measures to cut down on such incidents, including posting large signs proclaiming that "A Pedestrian Was Killed Crossing Here" at intersections where fatal accidents have occurred and installing more
road-rule enforcement cameras.
On February 28, 2008, another bicyclist, a 22-year-old man, a well noted and praised local artist, musician and friend to many
[who?] was killed, adding another fatality to the vast number of deaths on this road. Since his death the family, friends and the biking community have protested for better and safer biker and pedestrian conditions on Queens Blvd and other dangerous roads in the borough and city. They have appeared with local Legislature on several local NYC TV news broadcasts, and it is starting to push into legislation. They still continue to fight for this terrible reputation of "The Boulevard of Death" is now starting to be brought to the attention of the NYC and Queens Borough Legislature, and has brought heightened awareness to the city's pedestrians. In 2005, there was some hope that there had been a permanent reduction in pedestrian fatalities, because in 2004 only one pedestrian was killed crossing Queens Boulevard.
[2] That trend did not continue.
[3]
Because of its name, density, accessibility, and diverse, multicultural character, the road has come to be somewhat emblematic of
Queens in general.
Popular culture references
- Queens Boulevard
is the name of a fictional movie starring Vincent Chase within the world of the television show Entourage
.
- Queens Boulevard
is the name of a local band out of Annapolis, Maryland.
- Queens Boulevard
is the name of an Indie rock band hailing out of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- Queens Boulevard
is the name of an alternative rock band from Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
- Queens Boulevard (the musical)
is the name of a musical by playwright Charles Mee.
- In the movie Coming to America
, the address of McDowell's restaurant is 8507 Queens Boulevard.
- Dukes Boulevard in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV is based on Queens Boulevard
Notes
- Boulevard of death' claims another life
- VIOLENT CITY DEATHS HIT HISTORIC LOWS Everything from murders to auto fatalities falls sharply
- Pol: Queens 'Boulevard of Death' Needs Bike Lane