Western Queens may be about to become the testing ground for one of the most significant street policy ideas to reach New York City in years. On Monday night, a group of Astoria residents, advocates, and open street organizers gathered to map out how low-traffic neighborhoods — a design concept long established in London and Barcelona — could be introduced to Queens, and potentially the rest of the city. Mayor Mamdani, who represented Astoria in the State Assembly before taking office, has signaled strong interest in the idea.

If it happens, residents in Astoria, Jackson Heights, and Sunnyside could see some of the most dramatic changes to how their streets feel since the city built the subway.

What Is a Low-Traffic Neighborhood?

A low-traffic neighborhood — LTN for short — uses gates, bollards, planters, and turn restrictions to prevent cars from using residential side streets as cut-through routes, while still allowing residents, delivery trucks, and emergency vehicles to access their blocks. The through-traffic that would normally snake past homes, schools, and parks gets redirected onto main arterials instead.

London rolled out around 100 LTNs between 2020 and 2022. Studies found they were popular with residents, reduced air pollution, and cut deaths and injuries by more than a third in affected areas. The designs freed up side streets for kids to play, seniors to walk comfortably, and neighbors to actually know each other.

“People just returned to the street very naturally, because there was just way less traffic,” said John Surico, an Astoria resident and chair of the 31st Avenue Open Street Collective, who studied LTNs in London while completing a graduate degree in transportation. He spoke at Monday’s event, organized by Open Plans.

Why Queens, and Why Now

Western Queens already has several of the building blocks in place. DOT overhauled Astoria’s 31st Avenue last year, installing traffic-calming measures, directional changes to divert cars, and the widest bike lane in the entire city. The agency plans to extend that redesign east into Woodside with a new circular traffic diverter at Newtown Road.

The 34th Avenue open street in Jackson Heights — a 26-block car-free zone — represents what advocates call the “gold standard” for this kind of intervention. Jim Burke, who co-founded that open street, said these existing projects could serve as the “spine” around which a full LTN could be built: redesign the side streets that feed off 34th Avenue, block the cut-throughs from Roosevelt Avenue to Northern and Astoria Boulevards, and the neighborhood changes fundamentally.

“The DOT already has most of the things that we want in their toolkit, and they could probably do it tomorrow,” Burke said at Monday’s event.

The political timing also aligns. Mayor Mamdani ran explicitly on a platform of street safety and livable neighborhoods, and his budget proposal — released earlier this week — includes significant new funding for DOT to execute bike lanes and bus lanes faster. A DOT spokesperson declined to confirm any specific LTN plans but said the agency appreciated community support: “We look forward to reviewing any community requests.”

What Residents Are Saying

Attendees at Monday’s Astoria meeting expressed enthusiasm, though also some practical questions. Aastha Uprety noted that school proximity makes safety measures more politically achievable: “Shutting down the streets next to schools should be easy to get buy-in for, because the kids need to be safe.” Another attendee, K’gnausa Yodkerepauprai, said she’d pitch skeptics by asking whether they feel safe crossing the road. “A lot of people don’t,” she said.

Emily Chingay of Open Plans framed it as a continuation of what the borough has already started: “Western Queens has already shown what’s possible when neighbors lead the way. Low traffic neighborhoods build on that momentum.”

The Upper West Side is also watching. Last month, a Manhattan community board formally requested that DOT pilot an LTN there. But for now, the advocates and the infrastructure most aligned with the concept are in Queens.

What You Need to Know

• What’s being discussed: Low-traffic neighborhoods for western Queens — Astoria, Jackson Heights, and Sunnyside are the most frequently named candidates.
• How it would work: Bollards, planters, and turn restrictions would block cut-through traffic on residential streets while keeping local access open.
• Current status: Community advocacy phase — no formal DOT announcement yet, but the administration is receptive.
• Where to engage: Follow Open Plans (openplansnyc.org) and the 31st Avenue Open Street Collective for upcoming meetings and advocacy opportunities.
• Relevant existing infrastructure: 31st Avenue bike boulevard, 34th Avenue open street in Jackson Heights, 39th Avenue bike corridor in Sunnyside.

For Queens residents navigating the borough’s existing transit options while these policy conversations develop, the HelpNewYork NYC subway and OMNY guide covers the basics. And for a closer look at what’s already happening on Queens streets, see the recent update on Astoria’s 31st Street redesign expansion.