by Assembly Member Marge Markey

There are hopeful signs that, at long last, this will be the year that we get a commitment to mve dangerous truck traffic out of the main commercial area of Grand Avenue. 

Everybody knows that big trucks don't belong on local shopping streets.  They kill retail business; they create hazardous conditions for pedestrians, and they pollute the air.  It is important to do everything possible - as soon as possible - to reduce truck traffic on Grand Avenue.  

Getting those big trucks off this street has been the community's goal for more than a decade.  Frank Principe and Community Board 5 developed a Maspeth Bypass Plan a decade ago to reduce dangerous truck traffic through the heart of the community.  

We have now been notified that the long-awaited "Maspeth Bypass" may finally be implemented by the city Department of Transportation (DOT).  

A decade of pressure and lobbying by elected officials and community leaders is finally getting us results as the city has announced a timetable for completing its engineering analysis of alternatives for the bypass, including the Community Board 5 proposal.   The City will present a final plan to the community in September.  In October, the agency will make a final recommendation of a plan for implementation.  

With community frustrations over the long delay in resolving the long-standing threat to the community posed by the dangerous truck traffic, I joined other elected officials and civic leaders at a press conference on Grand Avenue earlier this year to suggest a change in the designation of the street south of 69th Street to a "local route" for truckers.  This is something the city can do right now to reduce the number of big trucks that cut through the heart of Maspeth on their way to other boroughs and the DOT has promised to give us an answer to the proposal this Spring.  

But changing the designation of the street immediately to make it a local route for truckers will require more than signs if it is to be successful; the regulations must also be vigorously enforced.  It's up to the police to catch truckers who violate the ban and make sure they are fined.  

To help do this I am sponsoring a bill in the Assembly that will permit the City to place cameras at key intersections - like Grand Avenue and 69th Street - and make it possible for the police to track down owners and operators and fine them when they break the law.  

In these tough economic times, it is important that we do everything we can to help neighborhood businesses survive.  Getting trucks off this street now will make a difference to Maspeth and I join with my colleagues in asking the Department of Transportation to support the request we are making - and to enforce it.

Waste Management has come back with a new plan to transport waste by rail which does not require double trucking it through western Queens.  Waste Management will expand their site by purchasing a nearby parcel of land which can accommodate loading of the trains on site.  Private roads between the two sites will be utilized to prevent disrupting businesses that share the community driveway at the original site.  This eliminates the need for the trucks to haul the garbage to the Maspeth Railyard, which is in close proximity to homes.

Here are the details and here is a the Solid Waste Management Plan's fact sheet.

We thank our elected officials for their advocacy and Waste Management for their open mindedness and responsiveness.

This photo and story comes courtesy of the Times Newsweekly:

Elected officials vented at a press conference in Maspeth last Friday, Mar. 5, against the continued use of Grand and Flushing avenues as a commercial “through truck route” citing the damaging effects of exposure to diesel fumes to the community.

City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley was joined by Rep. Joseph Crowley, Rep. Anthony Weiner, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and a host of community leaders in decrying the air pollution resulting from trucks that routinely use the connecting roadways to avoid traveling on the Long Island Expressway.

The public servants called on the Department of Transportation to alleviate the burden of vehicle congestion by turning the Grand Avenue-Flushing Avenue thorough- fare into a “local” route as part of a Maspeth Truck Bypass plan that was the brainchild of local civic leaders. The plan is currently the focus of a study being conducted by the DOT.

Council Member Crowley claimed that Queens is the only place where a route terminates at a borough boundary, causing trucks to clog up Maspeth’s primary shopping district.

“Neighborhood residents are thrilled that the study for the Maspeth Bypass Plan is underway,” added Rosemarie Daraio, president of the Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET) civic association. “COMET is anxious to work with our elected officials and DOT to ensure that the study addresses the community's concerns and that it is completed as quickly as possible. Hopefully NYC DOT will consider installing signage as a preliminary step. We look forward to a safer and more environmentally friendly Grand Avenue.”

NY1 VIDEO: City officials said Tuesday they hope to have a plan in place by fall to eliminate truck traffic along a heavily congested section of Grand Avenue in Maspeth.

Click here to watch story.

Residents of Maspeth met with DOT officials on January 26 at Martin Luther High School to discuss concerns about truck traffic in the area and to hear about progress of the Maspeth Bypass and Intersection Normalization Study.

The study is being conducted in two phases.  Data is being collected about alternative truck routes and dangerous intersections and the DOT will have an update on the study in September.  The ultimate goal is to get trucks off our local streets and onto more appropriate routes.  For information about the study, check the website: www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/maspeth.shtml

Residents of Maspeth worried over the number of trucks in the neighborhood have their chance to speak up next week when the Department of Transportation (DOT) holds a public discussion on the Maspeth Bypass and Intersection Normalization Study.

DOT is conducting a two-phase study to explore alternative truck routes in the area. The study is also investigating problem intersections, road configurations and the impact of commercial traffic on local streets, according to the transportation department.

The public discussion will take place on Tuesday, January 26 at 7 p.m. at Martin Luther High School, which is located at 60-02 Maspeth Avenue. For additional information contact DOT at 718-286-0886. - Queens Ledger

By Christina Wilkinson

The City of New York is planning to authorize Waste Management’s garbage transfer station on Review Avenue in Long Island City which will accept the solid waste collected curbside from sanitation truck routes throughout Queens Community Boards 1-6. The waste will be delivered to the transfer station via an estimated 65 sanitation truck trips per day. Waste Management will then load the waste onto their trucks for transport to trains at the Maspeth Railyard at Maspeth Avenue and Rust Street. This will add another estimated 50 truck trips per day. The trains will then carry the waste to the Fresh Pond Railyard until it is ready for its rail journey out-of-state.  While hauling trash via rail rather than truck is a step in the right direction environmentally, this plan is flawed for several reasons.

- The routes that the trucks will take to the transfer station are undefined and will cause trucks to come through residential areas. For example, the Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan has yet to be put into effect by DOT and sanitation trucks heading to and from LIC drive down Grand Avenue regularly.
- The same rail line that the trains will take to Glendale run right next to Waste Management’s property. Therefore it is unnecessary for them to haul it to the Maspeth Railyard. Paying Waste Management to truck the waste to the railyard is a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money, especially since the Varick Avenue Transfer Station in Brooklyn will transport their waste via rail to the Fresh Pond Railyard. There is no reason why the same can’t be done here.
- The City is upgrading its rail-barge system at 65th Street in Brooklyn but Waste Management will not be utilizing that because it says their containers do not fit that system. The containers should fit the system that is least likely to cause environmental damage and adversely impact residents’ quality-of-life; the system should not be driven by the type of containers they have on hand. 
- The proposed plan will increase pollution and increase asthma and cancer rates as there are a number of people living near the railyard.
- A document on the Department of Sanitation’s website shows way more truck trips (81 to the transfer station and 144 to the railyard) than what WM is reporting now (50 to the transfer station and 65 to the railyard). 
- The Vallone family of Queens political fame has collected more than $1M in fees to lobby for this project since 2002.

Area civic organizations, our local elected officials and political candidates and Community Board 5 all agree that there has to be a better way to dispose of Queens’ garbage.

Photos of Waste Management rally held on 7/18/2009 may be found here.