McGuinness Boulevard

40°43′49″N 73°57′04″W / 40.73028°N 73.95117°W / 40.73028; -73.95117

NYC Marathon leaders rounding the corner onto McGuinness Boulevard

McGuinness Boulevard is a boulevard in Greenpoint, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It runs between Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) in the south and the Pulaski Bridge in the north, which connects Greenpoint to Long Island City, Queens and Jackson Avenue (NY 25A). South of Driggs Avenue, it is called McGuinness Boulevard South.

History

McGuinness Boulevard was formerly known as Oakland Street, which went from Driggs Avenue to Newtown Creek. The road was widened considerably in 1954 to six lanes, with three lanes in each direction, after the Pulaski Bridge opened, which replaced the Vernon Avenue Bridge to the west.^[1] In 1964, it was renamed after former local Democratic alderman Peter McGuinness.^[2]

Safety

The boulevard had a reputation as a dangerous roadway,^[3] with three pedestrians and one cyclist dying on the boulevard between 2008 and 2013. Having one of the highest fatality rates in Brooklyn, it has been compared to Queens Boulevard, Queens's "Boulevard of Death". According to one study, at the intersection with Nassau Avenue alone, drivers violated traffic laws almost four times per minute.^[4] As a result, the speed limit was lowered in 2014 from 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative.^[5][6] In 2014, locals have requested further mitigation infrastructure , including speed cameras and left-turn traffic lights.^[7]

In 2023, the New York City Department of Transportation announced a redesign of the street.^[8] Early plans called for the entire boulevard to be narrowed to one travel lane in each direction; another lane would have been converted into a protected bike lane.^[9][10] The plan was delayed after an aide to mayor Eric Adams claimed that the plan's only supporters did not live in the community.^[11] A compromise proposal was unveiled in August 2023, when the DOT announced that protected bike lanes would still be installed but that the parking lanes would be converted to travel lanes during rush hours.^[12][13] Installation of the bike lanes began shortly afterward.^[10]

References

1. "Bridge Linking Greenpoint Section of Brooklyn and Long Island City Is Opened". The New York Times. September 11, 1954. p. 19. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
2. "The Gowanus Lounge: Guest Post: Peter J. McGuinness, My Hero". Retrieved September 10, 2014.
3. . Gothamist. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
4. "McGuinness is Brooklyn's killer boulevard, deaths and study show". NY Daily News. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
5. "McGuinness Boulevard Is NYC's Third 25 MPH Arterial Slow Zone". Streetsblog New York City. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
6. . Gothamist. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
7. "Levin to DOT: Deadly McGuinness Blvd Needs Traffic Calming, Speed Cams". Streetsblog New York City. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
8. "McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn to get redesign". PIX11. August 18, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
9. "Big Changes Are Coming to McGuinness Boulevard, With a Full Road Diet". Greenpointers. May 8, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
10. Kliger, Hannah (September 12, 2023). "Opposition to NYC DOT's McGuinness Boulevard redesign mounts in Greenpoint". CBS New York. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
11. Hogan, Gwynne (July 6, 2023). "How Mayor Adams Took a U-Turn on McGuinness Boulevard Redesign". THE CITY - NYC News. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
12. Paolicelli, Alyssa (August 17, 2023). "City moves forward with scaled-down redesign of McGuinness Boulevard". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
13. Daly, Adam (August 17, 2023). "Relief in Greenpoint as compromise reached on McGuinness Boulevard redesign". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved October 31, 2023.