Queens Boulevard, a.k.a. the Boulevard of Death, getting $100 million makeover

QUEENS (WABC) -- Queens Boulevard, long nicknamed the Boulevard of Death, is getting bike lanes and a $100 million makeover.

The seven-mile corridor is one of New York City's busiest and has become notorious over the years for fatal accidents and severe injuries, with 38 deaths and nearly 450 severe injuries documented between 2003 and 2013.

But now, city officials hope the upgrades will improve safety conditions.

Crime scene tape lined Queens Boulevard just a couple weeks ago after latest accident. It involved a 40-year-old man who was struck while trying to cross 51st Avenue.

Under Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero plan, bike lanes, new turning signals and pedestrian space will be added.

The Department of Transportation says the first phase of the upgrades will begin in August along a 1.3 mile stretch between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street where there have been six total incidents and two pedestrian fatalities since 2009.

There will be protected bike lanes on both sides of the road, as well as extra space for pedestrians between the eastbound and westbound lanes. The DOT says the medians will be "park-like."

The entire upgrade will not be completed until 2018, with designs similar to Eastern and Ocean parkways in Brooklyn.

The DOT used feedback from a community workshop in January to develop the plans, which will be put to a final vote in the coming months.