Q16 (New York City bus)

The **Q16** constitutes a bus route between Flushing and Fort Totten. It is currently operated by New York City Transit under the MTA Regional Bus Operations brand.

## Route description

The route begins at 39th Avenue and Union Street in Flushing, and turns right onto the latter street and then onto Bayside Avenue and then 29th Avenue.

For buses going on Francis Lewis Boulevard, it turns to the boulevard, and then turns onto Wilets Point Boulevard to access Cross Island Parkway South Service Road.

For buses using Utopia Parkway, they use 26th Avenue to access the parkway, and continues on the parkway until it turns to Cross Island Parkway South Service Road.

Both directions continue on the service road until it goes on Totten Avenue. It then continues until it ends near Fort Totten.

## History

The Q16 bus began on August 15, 1930, and was originally owned by the North Shore Bus Company.

On October 30, 1952 service on Utopia Parkway began to serve the Clearview Gardens development.

On November 29, 1956, the NYCTA approved a series of changes to citywide bus service to take effect January 22, 1957. One of the planned changes was the consolidation of the main route via Willets Point Boulevard and Clintonville Avenue and the spur route along Utopia Parkway branches, onto 166th Street. Buses had previously alternated between running via Utopia Parkway and Francis Lewis Boulevard and Whitestone Parkway. The planned change was opposed by the North Queens Community Coordinating Council.

Service along the Utopia Parkway spur had run along Utopia Parkway, from 16th Avenue to 26th Avenue. The main route had run along 26th Avenue, Clintonville Street and Willets Point Boulevard to 160th Street. Instead, service ran along 166th Street between 26th Avenue and Willets Point Boulevard. This change took effect on February 3, 1957. 166 trips were dropped from the Q16 schedule. In response to the proposed change in the route, mothers from Clearview Gardens threatened to form a human barricade across 166th Street. They opposed the change due to safety concerns; service was to be rerouted from the wider Clintonville Street and Utopia Parkway to the narrow 166th Street, along which two schools were located. The original routes were restored on November 17, 1957.

On July 11, 1966, the NYCTA moved the terminals of the Q13, Q14, Q16, Q28, and Q44FS from downtown Flushing to the Flushing Parking Field surrounded by 37th Avenue, Union Street, 138th Street, and 39th Avenue on a six-month pilot basis. The change, which was made at the request of multiple Queens elected officials, was intended to provide shelter for riders and reduce downtown congestion. However, due to immediate opposition from shoppers, who complained that the change forced them to walk four blocks to get from the subway to the buses, businessmen, and elected officials, on July 20, 1966, the NYCTA announced that it would undo the change on July 24. Q13, Q16, and Q28 service would go back to terminating on the north side of Roosevelt Avenue to the east of Main Street, while Q14 and Q44FS service would resume terminating on the east side of Main Street at 39th Avenue.

Overnight service eliminated on September 10, 1995 as part of a series of cuts made to reduce the MTA's budget deficit.