From the Queens Chronicle:Ever since the city started installing traffic islands on College Point Boulevard in Flushing a couple of months ago, accident rates have gone up significantly.
Officers at the 109th Precinct report numerous phone complaints from drivers about the islands because they don’t see them until it’s too late and end up hitting them. Gene Kelty, chairman of Community Board 7, says the design makes no sense, causing a problem where there wasn’t one before. Crashes are up fourfold.
Although a traffic initiative, the Department of Transportation said the project was in the hands of the Department of Design and Construction. DDC spokesman Craig Chin indicated the “pedestrian refuge islands” project, from 32nd to Fowler avenues, also includes reconstructing that stretch of College Point Boulevard with a resurfaced roadway, pedestrian ramps and upgraded water and sewer mains.
Officers in the highway safety office at the 109th Precinct indicated that there is no specific data for the boulevard, but that year-to-date accidents are up 3 percent. CB 7, however, was informed by police sources that accidents on the boulevard where the islands have been installed have increased by 400 percent in a one-month period. A police source confirmed that figure for the Chronicle.
Also concerned about the situation is the Department of Sanitation. Ignazio Terranova of the DOS said it will be more difficult in the winter for snowplows to maneuver around the islands. “It’s a lot harder to see them with snow,” Terranova said.
24 comments:
If these drivers are paying so little attention and driving so recklessly on this street that they don't see those large plastic barrels then they shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car. Those people are a real danger and do much to lower the quality of the life of city residents. I hope the DOT installs some real strong bollards, the kind that keep trucks from ramming into banks and jewellery stores, to protect the pedestrians on the islands given the way maniacs drive on college point.
I agree some drivers are out of control all over the Tri State area. Pedestrians and bicycle riders are being murdered by reckless drivers way to often.
I thought that accidents were at an all time low thanks to Sadik Khan? Well, she's responsible for this as well.
Anonymous #1: the barrels were put there only AFTER the accidents started happening. Since the islands weren't there before, drivers didn't expect them to be there, and couldn't see them, as they are flat.
I like how a post about a dangerous condition devolves into "drivers are jerks" immediately.
If this area is anything like Main St. then the drivers probably aren't seeing the barrels because there are thousands of jay walkers so the driver has a choice, keep an eye on the traffic signs and obstructions and run people over or don't look around because if you take your eyes off the jaywalkers for a moment, you'll probably run one over.
Too much over development leads to too many cars and too many people.
I made the mistake of going into that trap of a mall once. I was practically in tears trying to get out of that place. Too much going on.
pedestrian refuge islands
If pedestrians are having trouble crossing College Point Blvd (which I still find unlikely), then put a light and crosswalk on every corner, and give people enough time to make it across so they don't need to stop half way.
Two words: Asian drivers.
Traffic lights won't matter, the pedestrians don't respect them. They just dart across the street. Try driving down Main St. at any given time or worse 39th Avenue and Roosevelt.
barrels placed there after accidents ? maybe, but the article says they are badly dented from being hit. if you are having trouble watching the road and alleged jaywalkers at the same time then you are going too fast for the road conditions. crosswalks aren't a safe place to cross. drivers consistently fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. there aren't too many people in the city. only too many cars.
They need a cop directing traffic at College Point and Roosevelt. That intersection is chaos.
"there aren't too many people in the city. only too many cars."
I'd have to disagree with that. There are too many people in the city. We can't keep up with the infrastructure to support them. Cars, on the other hand are used less here than anywhere else in the country.
"there aren't too many people in the city. only too many cars."
Take your bicycle loving, car hating self back to manhattan. You are delusional if you think that there aren't to many people in the city, especially in that overdeveloped area of flushing.
The traffic on that section of College Point Blvd is terrible. I can't wait for our fearless DOT commissioner to say the problem is that there is not a bike lane, and have them immediately installed.
It's really scary driving over there. People are constantly darting between the moving cars dragging their 5 or 6 anchor babies.
A lot of Asians have never taken any driving lessons - they just send in a similar looking friend to take the test for them. I've had that confirmed by both Chinese and Indian friends - it's standard practice.
We need a unique identifier like a thumbprint on every license. It won't stop the counterfeit ones but it could stop the dups with different names and addresses coming out of the DMV.
College Point Blvd. is physically some of the most horribly maintained road I've ever seen. I might as well put on a cowboy hat and scream, "Yee-HAW!" when I drive up College Point Blvd. above 40th Avenue, where that crummy terribly-designed new mall is, with BJ's, BedBath&Beyond, Target, etc., as my car bucks and leaps up when it hits the many many ridges that shouldn't even be there. And yes, the Asian drivers totally stink. They double park all along Main Street as well, seriously occluding traffic as they run into a store. G-d forbid they should be inconvenienced like you or I to find a legal parking space. No, dozens of drivers must be inconvenienced or even put in danger as they have to fight into another lane to get around the double-parked car.
Driving anywhere in a heavily Asian area is an exercise in freestyle driving, seemingly without laws or regulations of any sort.
Anonymous said...
"Take your bicycle loving, car hating self back to manhattan"
I live in Flushing and love my bike and car. I use them for different reasons. Let's get real ! The problem on our streets is aggressive diving and lack of police inforcement.
There was a time when all major routes (such as Hillside Ave) had pedestrian islands in the center. Then, about 20 years ago, they were all removed. I think the excuse was that it made it easier for ambulances and emergency vehicles to get through by using the middle of the street. Now they're starting to put pedestrian islands back, realizing that it's dangerous for people to be standing in the middle of traffic if they couldn't make it across before the light changed - they've installed them on Hillside around 179th St / Midland Pkwy. Everything old is new again.
Im a driver on this road, and those island are just ridiculous. What use do they have. Our population is flushing is exploding so they decide to constrict these streets? Not the right choice. They should be making them wider not narrower.
They should be making them wider not narrower.
Especially with all the cement mixers and other trucks that double-park along that stretch of College Point Blvd near Northern Blvd. It's really going to squeeze and slow the flow of traffic.
Anonymous said...
"It's really going to squeeze and slow the flow of traffic."
Bingo ! Too make the streets safer.
If they're running into the bollards, it doesn't appear they have made things safer.
I don't know why this newspaper and this website need to point out that accidents are up because of some city action. Don't question your betters. Just ride your bicycle and go protest budget cuts to your favorite pet cause or whatever. This questioning of authority is really getting out of hand.
You have to live in this area to understand that Asians can't drive. That's who causes all the accidents.
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