His Vision Zero Action Plan to make streets safer must not include Queens, or at least the town of Maspeth. E-mails about a major on going safety problem, to his office, Queens DOT commissioner Dalila Hall's and NYC DOT commissioner Polly Trottenberg's offices go ignored and unanswered.
Almost 3 years ago, a group of residents along 70 St between 54 and 51 Aves asked the city to convert 70 St to a one way northbound. Our major concern after seeing parked vehicles being sideswiped and their mirrors torn off, as well as a number of fender benders, is for the safety of the children at IS 73. You see, many children, teachers and staff share the street with speeding school buses, racing TLC cars, parents dropping their kids off and the local citizens trying to get out and go to work. This is a narrow tertiary street. It runs from Queens B'lvd. to 54 Ave. where it ends at the entrance to IS 73. Someday, someone missing the stop sign, is going to drive through this "T" intersection and straight into the front entrance of this school !!! The city, in all its wisdom, moved the left turn lane on Queens B'lvd from 69 ST ( a secondary roadway ) to 70 St because of the volume of accidents. Drivers have discovered that they can avoid 6 or 7 traffic lights on 69 St by racing down our block.
On November 2, 2012, Community Board 5 received a letter from Maura McCarthy, former Queens DOT commissioner, responding to an October 18, 2011 request by the board for a one way conversion. Ms McCarthy responds by stating that traffic counts, street measurements, traffic circulation, area parking and the school congestion studies conducted by the DOT show that this area, and its pedestrians would be better served and safer as a one way street. The DOT recommends to the board that this conversion take place.
THREE YEARS LATER.......
We are still a two-way street. Someone was hit by a car on 70 St one block before the school. 5 students were hit by a car that jumped the curb at 71 St and Grand Ave. One child later died. 70 Street ends at 54 Ave and the traffic funnels down 71 St to Grand Avenue.
Our local council member Crowley - useless in getting the DOT to get moving.
DOT stated in the past it was a budgetary issue....we are talking 6 blocks here people !!! NOT all of Maspeth.
CB 5 notifies residents by mail that the conversion will take place week of 4/14/2014...DOT now denies this.
Where is the action, Mr. Mayor?
You know the area well having filled potholes a few blocks away.
You demonstrated that our local streets make great speedways.
Are you waiting to visit an injured or dead child and their parents before acting?
Has your "vision" gone blurry ? or don't you care about Queens?
You can take action here with much better results - in a much shorter time span.
The DOT states that it will not convert this street while school is in session. Makes NO sense. Spring the change on drivers all at once on a Monday morning after spring vacation, or on bus drivers, parents, and taxis who will NOT travel through here all summer!!! DOT workers can NOT work outside if the temperature is below 45....poor guys. Take a look at the faded, missing, and falling street signs in the area. Watch the next pothole patrol...how hard they work....and my point will be well made." - SKI
7 comments:
His Vision Zero will be nothing but a big fat zero....just you watch.
The dot takes too long to take action on anything. All government agencies in NYC are a big freaking joke! I filed a complaint with the dot last November and still haven't heard anything back myself. I only asked them for a four way stop sign or a speed bump on my block. Still haven't heard anything back yet...still waiting.... called cb11, they told me to wait. I think they will make me wait until I'm dead just to get a reply back. The city needs to start listening to the community's needs, after all we are the ones who live in the neighborhood and we see what goes on. The city doesn't do anything unless it's an inconvenience to the government officials.
The dot takes too long to take action on anything. All government agencies in NYC are a big freaking joke! I filed a complaint with the dot last November and still haven't heard anything back myself. I only asked them for a four way stop sign or a speed bump on my block. Still haven't heard anything back yet...still waiting.... called cb11, they told me to wait. I think they will make me wait until I'm dead just to get a reply back. The city needs to start listening to the community's needs, after all we are the ones who live in the neighborhood and we see what goes on. The city doesn't do anything unless it's an inconvenience to the government officials.
Jou
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You also have to remember that a million other people have asked for a four way and speed bump, if they approved all of them, there would be one on every single block, which is not happening
They rush to put barriers near the creek after some ass goes 60mph on a rain slicked road, put bollards in the middle of Grand after another ass kills a woman while turning the wrong way, yet they don't do any "prevention" unless it involves bicycles.
Off with her head! That's supreme queen Crowley for ya. Good for nothing councilwomen.
Until someone gets killed on that street, the only way DOT will listen to the neighbors of 70th Street is if they show up in force to Town Halls and Vision Zero meetings.
The next Vision Zero Town Hall is April 23rd from 6-8 p.m. at LaGuardia Community College's Little Theatre. See details for that and other meetings here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pages/dialogue/events.html
This whole vision zero thing is ridiculous. It just a blame everything on the cars witch hunt. People are dying on the streets because pedestrians are jaywalking plain and simple. If you jaywalk and get hit its your fault.
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