Bayside Community Groups Invited To MTA Bus Plan Meeting Wednesday

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Community groups in Bayside have a chance to learn more about the MTA's most recent redesign plan for Queens' buses this week.

A virtual stakeholder briefing for community groups in northeast Queens is being held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, marking one of many upcoming chances for neighbors to voice feedback and ask questions about the new transit plan.

Last week, the MTA announced a revamp of its contentious borough-wide bus redesign plan, which it says takes into account negative feedback from previous proposals and 11,000 comments from the transit agency's first round of public engagement.

MTA brass lauded the new plan saying it will improve speed and efficiency for riders in the World's Borough who often depend on buses as their sole public transit option — including in Bayside, Patch reported.

The plan will include 85 regular bus routes (up from the 82 that currently traverse the borough), with 20 new routes, and 17 route extensions, plans show.

While this week's meeting is intended only for community groups, the MTA will kick off its virtual public workshops for neighbors on April 18.

The transit agency will host one meeting for every community district (though neighbors who can't make their community district meeting can attend a different meeting, the MTA said), including a meeting in Bayside from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on May 24 (registration is here).

Spanish, Mandarin and Korean language assistance will be provided at the Bayside meeting in May, the MTA said.

Interactive local and express maps of the proposed bus networks also include a comment feature, which neighbors can use to directly post opinions on proposed bus routes and stops.

If you are a community group representative in Bayside, register for the Wednesday briefing here.

Related Article: New Routes, Faster Buses Could Come To Bayside: MTA New Bus Plan