Residents had another opportunity to debate the Maspeth Bypass and Normalization study at Petro on Thursday, when the Department of Transportation (DOT) presented its latest plans in a community forum on the hot-button issue.

For those of you who aren’t up to date on the bypass, it all boils down to the normalization of the five- leg intersection where Maurice Avenue, Maspeth Avenue and 58th Street meet.  The city says it must fix the intersection before the bypass can be implemented.

According to a DOT study, the area has at least 57 different “conflict possibilities.” The planned street redesign- which includes converting a portion of Maurice Avenue into a northbound one-way street- would bring the number of “conflict possibilities” down to seven.

(Click here for a comprehensive overview of the changes).

At Petro, Charlene Stubbs, the co-president of the Maspeth West End Block Association, said she remained hopeful the changes would be effective but was “afraid the diverted traffic might come up 60th Street” and create more traffic.

One local businesswoman said she supported the plan but was wary the changes might affect her business, a view many store owners share. DOT has argued their plan- which was revised to reflect community input- represents a fair compromise between folks concerned about their business and others worried about safety.

Another notable consequence of the street redesign is the rerouting of the Q39 bus, which must accommodate DOT’s plans to turn sections of Maurice Avenue and 58th Street into one-way streets.

The change isn’t likely to affect commuters in a drastic way but it’s worth checking up on if you ride the bus. The MTA is planning an outreach campaign to inform Q39 riders of the change.

At the meeting DOT officials also encouraged people who own trucking businesses in Maspeth to send them information regarding fleet sizes, time-frames, routes and other relevant data as they are still getting in contact with businesses to run the changes by them. (Matthew Collura)