Queens Boulevard declined from , and the speeds of westbound cars declined from . In 2015, a new initiative was announced to further improve Queens Boulevard at a cost of $100 million. The section between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street received safety improvements, including pedestrian zones and bike lanes, as part of improvement's Phase 1, which began in August 2015 and was finished by the end of the year. Phase 2 between 74th Street and Eliot Avenue began in summer 2016. Phase 3 was split into two projects: between Eliot Avenue and Yellowstone Boulevard, and between Yellowstone Boulevard and Union Turnpike. The segment of the Phase 3 overhaul between Eliot and Yellowstone started in May 2017, while the segment between Yellowstone and Union Turnpike would start in July 2018. The project has gained opposition from some of the community boards surrounding Queens Boulevard because parking spots were removed to make way for the bike lanes. Starting in 2019, the whole boulevard will be totally overhauled in a manner similar to the Grand Concourse's capital reconstruction. Partially as a result of these safety improvements, there were no pedestrian deaths on Queens Boulevard between 2014 and 2017. Transportation This street hosts one of the highest numbers of New York City Subway services in the city. The (IND Queens Boulevard Line) and the (IRT Flushing Line) all use stretches of the right of way; only Broadway (nine services), Sixth Avenue (seven) in Manhattan and Fulton Street (eight) in Brooklyn carry more at any one time. In addition, the Q60 bus travels its entire length, and the Q32 and Q59 buses travel for significant portions of the boulevard's length. For a few decades, streetcar service operated along the boulevard, and until 1957 operated along the sides of the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. For the section where the line ran concurrently with the IRT Flushing Line, the streetcars ran in a median below the viaduct supporting the elevated trains. In the space of the present-day Aviation High School, there was a train yard for the streetcars. Major intersections References External links Queens Boulevard Expressway proposals from NYCROADS.com Streets in Queens, New York 20th century in New York City Kew Gardens, Queens Long Island City Jamaica, Queens Elmhurst, Queens Forest Hills, Queens Woodside, Queens