Times Ledger: MTA workshop to discuss bus service in NE Queens

The MTA is conducting a free public workshop next week to get feedback from northeast Queens residents on how to improve bus service in the area.

The workshop, hosted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will give residents of northeast Queens the opportunity to speak directly with planners on how service can be improved in areas examined in the Northeast Queens Bus Study, initiated by state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) last year.

The $500,000 study, money allocated in the state executive budget, is looking at bus service primarily in the neighborhoods of Flushing, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Bayside, College Point, Oakland Gardens, Douglaston, Glen Oaks, Fresh Meadows and Little Neck.

Southeast Queens riders typically have the longest commutes in the city, but the MTA decided to focus on northeast Queens in light of the impact of service cuts in the area roughly five years ago.

“When I announced the funding for this study, I noted that the neighborhoods in my district have always been underserved in terms of bus service and mass transportation options,” Avella told TimesLedger in October. “That’s why this study is vitally important.”

Since the study was initiated, MTA bus planners have presented the scope of this project to Queens Community Boards 7, 8, 11 and 13.

The workshop will be held Feb. 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Queensborough Community College Student Union on 222-05 56th Ave. in Oakland Gardens.

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