A few weeks ago, the bus stop for the Q47 and Q19b at 37th Ave. disappeared, replaced by three metered parking spots. According to the DOT spokesman, the change was made to speed bus traffic and thereby "reduce congestion and eliminate honking." The spokesman said that three more metered spots didn't represent a significant increase in metered parking and shouldn't be perceived as "giving back" parking to space formerly dedicated to mass transit. In making the move, the department worked with the MTA, which determined that nearby stops--at 35th Ave. and 37th Rd.--were close enough together that the 37th Ave. stop was superfluous.

Sweeney begs to differ, noting that the two remaining stops (represented by the top and bottom yellow dots on the map above; the middle dot is the eliminated stop) are now approximately 1,350 feet apart (the MTA says it tries to provide stops every 750 feet on average). Sweeney also has a problem with the way the change was made, saying the community was not consulted, and if they had been, metered parking spaces would not have been on the list of requests.

"The Western Jackson Heights Alliance has repeatedly asked for muni-meters and loading zones to be installed in the area," said Sweeney in an e-mail to Streetsblog. "If the Dept of Transportation is looking for quick and easy fixes, these two changes are it. Adding more parking spaces will not improve the situation--it will make it worse. Double parking, by trucks and cars that are loading and unloading, is the primary cause of congestion, and by extension, horn honking. Unfortunately, metered parking spaces are easily abused by motorists feeding the meter throughout the day. In 2003, Transportation Alternatives did a study of the area and noted that 39 percent of the metered parking spaces were abused by merchants feeding the meter through-out the day."

After hearing the DOT's rationale for the move, Sweeney still questions how it fits into the mayor's plan for a greener New York. "Jackson Heights must be the only place in New York City right now that is losing mass transit options and adding parking for private automobiles," he writes. "Does Mayor Bloomberg really care about congestion, air pollution and pedestrian safety outside of Manhattan? His actions are not in sync with his words."

Photo: Will Sweeney

The Queens Times-Ledger reports on the "cool reception" given last week by Queens Community Board 3 and City Council Member Hiram Monserrate to the DOT's proposal for a one-way pair of streets on 35th and 37th avenues. What's most disappointing about the debate so far is the DOT's insistence it can't come up with any other solutions to the chronic traffic congestion that plagues the heavily residential neighborhood.

Will Sweeney, a founding member of the Western Jackson Heights Alliance civic association, said one-way streets east and west would increase vehicle speeds and danger to pedestrians. He said the congestion was created not by east-west problems, but by backups on north-south streets. That is where the DOT should focus its efforts, he said.

"We do need a traffic engineering solution to the congestion and pedestrian safety problems in Jackson Heights. We don't need a dangerous raceway for through traffic," he said.

DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy, who noted that no one spoke in favor of the plan, said there were not many options for the city to consider.

"We are not here to force anything down anybody's throat," she said, but then added "there are not a lot of other ideas."

You can find a PDF of the DOT's complete presentation here.

Photo: Sarah Goodyear 

Two weekends ago, I decided to take an informal and unscientific survey of license plates in these three neighborhoods. I found that after New York, the most common plates are North Carolina or Pennsylvania. I considered that PA was relatively close and that possibly motorists were just visiting for a few days. But North Carolina is a long haul from NYC. Last Friday, I did the experiment again. This time I counted. 192 NC plates, 97 PA plates, 43 NJ plates, 21 Ohio plates, 12 CT plates and a few other random states in the single digits.

A little more research confirmed Sweeney's suspicion that all those cars didn't belong to tourists from Greensboro and Fayetteville. Turns out that so many drivers from our area are going down south to fraudulently obtain North Carolina plates that legislators in that state have introduced legislation to make the practice a felony. Reports Raleigh TV station WRAL:

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Long said motorists flock to North Carolina from expensive insurance states, such as New Jersey and New York. They give fake local addresses and get cheaper insurance and tags.

"They're coming down here literally by the bus load," Long said....

Investigators want the state Division of Motor Vehicles and insurance agents to improve how they verify where people live.

"The goal in all this is to protect the rates being charged to North Carolina drivers by keeping those from other states from buying insurance down here, then going back up north and having wrecks and costing all of us," Long said.

Sweeney notes that better enforcement in North Carolina would have a beneficial effect on New Yorkers as well. "A very effective way to re-claim our streets from cars is to make sure that all illegal cars are off the streets," he writes. "I think that if the city and state enforced the insurance and registration laws of the city, we could tremendously decrease the number of vehicles on the streets. And the revenues from fines and traffic tickets would actually be paid!"