By Joseph Morales

Linden Boulevard is an interborough street that travels from the Cambria Heights section of Queens through the neighborhoods of St.Albans, South Jamaica and South Ozone Park. It is like many other stretches in the outer boroughs with a combination of businesses and single-family residences. In Queens Community Districts 10 and 12, which comprise much of the corridor, average commute times are 46.9  and 48.4 minutes respectively, which are among the longest commutes in the city. In both districts , about half of the residents have car-free commutes meaning mass transit is a major part of how people get around. Unfortunately for communities that rely on mass transit as much as these Southern Queens neighborhoods, there is no bus or subway route that travels straight along the Linden Blvd corridor. Currently, a trip across the corridor would require a diversion from Linden Blvd onto Merrick Blvd and into Downtown Jamaica, which is one of the busiest transit hubs in the entire city. Afterwards, a rider must transfer to another bus for a trip that can easily take over 2 hours during rush hour. 

           Now as part of the Queens Bus Network Redesign, the MTA is proposing a Select Bus Service route that travels along the entirety of Linden Blvd between the Nassau County Line and Rockaway Blvd, from there the route will go through Cross Bay Blvd to the Belt Pkwy and the Gateway Center Mall in East New York, Brooklyn. In addition to a transit link along Linden Blvd, the new Select Bus Service Route will connect to over 25 other bus routes and the A train at Rockaway Blvd. For those needing to get to the subway or even certain bus routes, the trip along Linden Blvd will likely be favored than trying to get to Downtown Jamaica which is among the most congested parts of Queens. In addition, riders will also most likely prefer transferring at the less crowded and busy Rockaway Blvd station. The connection to the A train will also make travel easier to Central and Downtown Brooklyn, as well as provide express service along the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan. Bus stop spacing along the 9.3 mile route would be 3,050 feet compared to a current average stop distance of  712 feet on the Q4, 920 ft on the Q8, making the SBS a faster and more reliable service. While the proposed frequencies are slightly less than of the Q4 and Q8, with proposed headways of 10 minutes or better during the weekday peak hour, 15 minutes or better during the weekday off peak hours and 30 minutes or better all other times, the MTA stated in the Draft Plan that is the case due to the route being a new route, indicating service may be increased if the MTA sees fit. The connection to the Gateway Center in Brooklyn gives riders access to one of the city’s major shopping malls along with its job and recreation opportunities. The route may result in increased visitors to the shopping mall, making the route beneficial for business owners even if they do not personally ride the new bus route. 

The bus will also use corridors that are less congested than the ones riders most currently use if they are trying to travel to destinations along the new route. Currently, those corridors include 101st Ave as well as Liberty Ave depending on one’s destination.  101st Ave is a narrow and slow corridor with mixed use residential and commercial buildings. As for Liberty Ave, it is a relatively similar scenario, though the street is wider, there is more traffic and activity overall which results in slower speeds for buses. The new SBS route will use the entirety of the Linden Blvd corridor, which while still congested at times, will provide a more direct trip than current options. In addition, where riders would have to ride a bus along Liberty and 101st Avenues, the bus travels through a stretch of  one-story houses, which is a much faster stretch than the other corridors. The route also travels along Cross Bay Blvd where it can take advantage of existing bus lanes. 

Busy Liberty Ave in Queens where bus riders must endure slow bus speeds on Q112 to get across the corridor and to the Rockaway Blvd(A) subway station.

             Overall, the opportunities and possibilities of this new bus route are endless. Riders for the first time will have full transit access to destinations across Southern Queens and Brooklyn. Given the fact the route will be an SBS route, this has the chance to be one of the most important additions to the Queens Bus Network in decades.

Works Cited

MTA. “Queens Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan.” mta.info, 29 March 2022, https://new.mta.info/queens-bus-redesign-draft-plan-hi-res. Accessed 26 September 2022.