New traffic patterns overwhelm Astoria

Astoria, Queens, is now a tortuous asphalt maze of unforgiving closed streets, bright green paint, white lines, warning signs and merciless traffic arrows pointing and entrapping motorists into a gridlocked abyss.

Drivers are stressed to the limit, many times moving slower than pedestrians. Recent traffic pattern changes have resulted in major disruptions and delayed emergency responses to tens of thousands of residents. They are stuck in a traffic snare that defiantly refuses to set them free.

Gotham has always been swamped with cars, trucks and congestion due to millions of people and vehicles in a densely populated urban area. But now these issues have been made much worse by the new traffic patterns in Astoria, specifically on 35th Street and 31st Avenue where three streets merge into one just blocks away from major shopping districts on Steinway, Broadway and Grand Avenue. All traffic going east and west on 31st Avenue must now turn northbound onto 35th Street along with the numerous vehicles already on 35th Street traveling from the south that are forced to stay on the street because they can no longer turn left or right onto 31st avenue.

City Hall has failed again.

Astoria has become a labyrinth of thoroughfares where imperious traffic signs involuntarily direct motorists to unsought roads, like sheepdogs corralling sheep. And the vehicles remain snagged until the fickle trap that cares nothing about your family, job, school or appointments decides to let you out of its grip.

The traffic pattern changes, bicycle lanes, Citi Bikes and e-bikes have taken over Gotham like an occupying army. In Astoria, they usurp much needed lanes from motorists, covet consistently diminishing parking spaces from a community that was already suffering from insufficient parking for decades, cause congestion on streets resulting in delays, increase road rage incidents, create unbearable noise pollution and significantly slow down emergency responses, sometimes even preventing access by police, fire and EMS vehicles. Speaking to Eyewitness News Channel 7, one Astoria resident decried, “horns are blasting all day. we can’t rest, we can’t think. Ambulances can’t even get through.” Another lamented, “it’s just become a nightmare.” 

City politicians, like motorists and bicyclists that change lanes without first looking, appear to have blindly changed traffic lane patterns, detrimentally affecting the quality of life in Astoria for both residents and businesses. 

NY state politicians have implemented tolls to reduce congestion in Manhattan while city politicians are creating congestion in every borough.

New Yorkers can’t win.

The new traffic patterns are dangerous for everyone, but particularly for pedestrians. NYC has 1,500 miles of dedicated bike lanes and 623 protected bike lanes. There were more than 53 injuries on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg alone since 2024 where a 1.5 mile bike-lane has been plagued with problems. On May 28, a cyclist that was riding in the bike lane struck a child who was running to the curb after exiting from a double parked car. 

It appears the bicyclist in this case was obeying the traffic laws but many don’t with some cyclists riding like they were competing in the Tour de France and some e-bikers traveling on sidewalks as if pedestrians shouldn’t be there.

The lane changes in Astoria are also dangerous for bicyclists and e-bikers themselves because some motorists, who are frustrated due to the agonizing delays and blocked streets, struggle like fish trying to get free from the hook and once they dislodge from the traffic hook they drive in the bike lane to escape the detention of being wedged in a street that can take more than 30 minutes to reach the next block. On those blocks it is a challenging task for residents to even exit their driveways.

As New Yorkers have already seen, the 30,000 city bikes and 2,000 bike stations in NYC have seized sidewalks and parking spaces like squatters taking over a home.

The fastest and best mode of transportation in the Big Apple is by far the subway system, except for the smell, the danger and the rats.

But if state and city politicians did what they were elected to do and made the subway safe, clean, rat free and less expensive, more people would use trains. I assert many people would prefer to use the subway but don’t for safety reasons.

There are many cyclists in the five boroughs and I support them. They deserve a safe opportunity to use their bicycles for transportation and pleasure riding. But bike lanes should be designated on streets where it’s feasible and safe for cyclists, residents, motorists and businesses to co-exist and only traffic changes that can safely accommodate cyclists while not unduly burdening and disrupting the entire community should be implemented.

As a solution to the new traffic pattern quagmire in Astoria, I recommend that city officials consider simply revamping 31st Avenue from a two-way street to a one-way.

This would provide a safer and potentially much longer bike lane near the curb for cyclists to enjoy, would not funnel or corral vehicles or close streets as is now the case on 35th Street and 31st Avenue, would eliminate choked streets and horn honking caused by recent pattern changes, would not reduce the number of parking spaces, would be safer for pedestrians and provide clear access for emergency service vehicles which is now delayed. And there are ample streets that run parallel to 31st Avenue that motorists can use as alternate routes.

Renovating two-way streets to one-way should also be considered for future traffic pattern changes in all the boroughs to improve traveling within the city.

Designated bike lanes can live in harmony with pedestrians and motor vehicles. Let’s share the road safely and respectfully without destroying the quality of life in NYC.