For 17 years children attending PS7Q and IS5Q were provided bussing to get to various points on the north side of Queens Boulevard (AKA: Blvd of Death) in the Elmhurst neighborhood.  This year our children are forced to walk across this dangerous street. That means about 1500 children during the morning rush hour and again in the afternoon are put in harms way because NYC and OPT deem Queens Blvd safe. They say they have provided additional crossing guards to help the kids get across at Jacobus, but they don’t mention that we lost a crossing guard at Hillyer. We are told that because of Vision Zero the Blvd is safe. Meanwhile there are motorized bikes as well as cars that use the bike lanes for their convenience.  Their claim is that nobody has been killed by a vehicle since 2017. As parents we are left to hope our children aren’t hit and NYC and OPT are ok with it because the child is not likely to die. 

As parents we are left to hope our children aren’t hit and we don't experience any devastating casualties. As New York Constituents we are not okay with NYC dismissing our concern for the safety of our children crossing Queens Blvd. It is not safe. NYC must also account for accidents and not solely on the basis of the last time there was a death. A big factor as to why there hasn't been a death in a while is because prior to this school year (2021-2022) NYC was assisting us to keep our children safe by providing our school students in the surrounding areas much needed bussing. That was the preventative measure. Now that has been taken away leaving us exposed to possible casualties. Let's not let this be our story!