Mamdani unveils LaGuardia Queens bus lane

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on May 13 that New York City will add a dedicated bus lane in Queens to speed trips between the subway and LaGuardia Airport before World Cup matches begin next month. The project will create a center-running eastbound lane on Broadway between 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, according to the mayor’s office and the city Department of Transportation. The lane is designed to serve the Q70 Select Bus Service, the free “LaGuardia Link” that connects the airport with the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue transit hub. City officials said the corridor now carries about 9,000 daily riders and can slow to 2.7 miles per hour during the evening rush. ### Where exactly will the new lane go? Broadway in Jackson Heights is the focus of the project. The city said the new bus lane will run eastbound from 69th Street to Roosevelt Avenue, on the stretch where Q70 buses leave the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and head toward the subway and Long Island Rail Road connections at Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue. One general traffic lane in each direction will remain in place for other vehicles, according to the mayor’s office. (nyc.gov) The Q70-SBS route links LaGuardia to the 7, E, F, M and R subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road and several local bus routes, the city said. The service is one of the main transit connections for airport travelers and workers coming from the subway network into Queens. ### Why is the city doing this now? (nyc.gov) May 13 was the date city officials tied the project directly to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mamdani said the lane would be in place before the tournament begins on June 13, and his administration cast the project as part of a broader push to improve access for visitors arriving through LaGuardia while also shortening daily trips for regular riders. (nyc.gov) Mamdani said in a statement that arrivals in New York should be “fast, affordable and reliable all year round,” and that the lane would help visitors this summer while also serving “thousands of working-class New Yorkers who rely on the Q70.” Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson said the administration had launched a series of street projects meant to improve mobility during and after the tournament. (nyc.gov) ### How slow is the current trip? The city said Q70 buses on that Broadway segment can move as slowly as 2.7 mph in the evening rush. Officials compared that speed with an average walking pace of about 3 mph, a measure the mayor’s office and local news outlets used to describe the corridor’s congestion. (nyc.gov) Mike Flynn, the city’s transportation commissioner, said congestion on Broadway can make it faster to walk that part of the route in Jackson Heights than to ride the bus. The city said the lane is intended to improve commutes not only for air travelers but also for airport workers and Queens residents who use the corridor. (nyc.gov) ### Is this a new airport transit link? LaGuardia Airport remains the only major airport in the New York metropolitan area without a rapid transit connection, according to a longstanding city bus rapid transit study page. That page says the airport corridor has been studied for years and that bus-based improvements were identified as a lower-cost, shorter-term way to improve access. (nyc.gov) The Q70 itself fits that longer pattern. The city’s LaGuardia access study described a Woodside-Jackson Heights airport connector as a way to link the airport to the 7 train, the Long Island Rail Road and the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station, which is now the role the Q70 serves. ### What happens next? Later in May, NYC DOT plans to present the proposal to the local community board, according to NY1 and amNewYork. (nyc.gov) The mayor’s office said the administration would discuss the project with the community in the coming weeks before installation. June 13 is the deadline the administration has set in public. (nyc.gov) By then, officials say, the Broadway lane should be painted and ready for Q70 service before World Cup matches begin. (amny.com) (nyc.gov)