We're now doing photo ops over traffic lights...

From Sunnyside Post:

A new traffic light has gone up at the intersection of 43rd Avenue and 47th Street, in response to complaints about reckless drivers speeding down 43rd Avenue putting pedestrians at risk.

The intersection is just a block away from Little Friends Pre-K, a 56-seat school that small children and their parents walk to. It is also an intersection used by many pedestrians who walk to the 46th Street train station.

To mark the installation, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, representatives of the Department of Transportation and pre-school children turned out to celebrate.

It's a stop light, Jimmy. Relax.

Vision Zero traffic signals installed

From the Queens Courier:

Motorists driving along Cross Bay and Woodhaven boulevards will be seeing more red, yellow and green.

As part of Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” traffic safety initiative, the city is in the process of installing new and larger traffic lights along the busy thoroughfares in hopes of giving motorists a better view of the of the red, yellow and green lights.

Currently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is replacing the 8-inch circular signals with 12-inch circular signals going northbound and southbound on the two boulevards in Queens. These are the first to be installed in the borough.

Work will be done for the entire length of the corridor and is expected to be completed within four to six weeks, weather permitting, according to a DOT spokeswomen.

I don't think the issue is lack of visibility of signals. On the contrary, when dopes see the light about to turn red, they speed up instead of slow down.

And Mike DenDekker has a point: none of this is necessary, he told DNA Info.

The city’s Vision Zero program does “nothing” to help keep pedestrians safe — and couldn’t have saved two children who were tragically killed on Northern Boulevard in recent years, according to Assemblyman Michael DenDekker.

Instead, the city should spend money on a traffic light system that allows drivers and pedestrians to travel separately because those accidents were attributable to vehicles failing to yield while they were turning, he said.

Pedestrian safety on people's minds

Race to cross Queens Plaza

Woodside intersection made safer

From NY1:

A couple of weeks ago, NY1 told you about a dangerous situation residents say was created after work was done on the 69th Street light, throwing off the timing. Drivers told us they couldn't see when the light was red because it was sandwiched between two green lights and blocked by tree branches.

"The day before yesterday, we had two accidents and one car flipped over," Nuruddin says.

After NY1 called the city, the Parks Department came out and trimmed the trees and the Department of Transportation synced the lights, a relief to residents who are happy to now see drivers come to a complete stop.

Woodside's dangerous intersection

From NY1:

A mistimed traffic light in a section of Woodside, Queens has residents fearing what they say is an accident waiting to happen.

"That's really, really, very, very dangerous," said resident Anita Nuruddin.

The problem is when the light's red at 69th Street, it's sandwiched in between two green lights and drivers cannot see the red light because it is blocked by a tree branch. That causes drivers to run the red light, according to those living in the area.

They say there was work done on the 69th Street light recently and after that the timing was thrown off, causing some serious confusion.

"The day before yesterday we had two accidents and one car flipped over," said Nuruddin.

After residents contacted NY1, the station called the Department Of Transportation. A spokeswoman told NY1 the agency will look at the signal timing at 31st and 32nd Avenues at 69th Street.

The spokeswoman went on to say that DOT will also reach out to the Parks Department to address any trimming of the trees.

NY1 will continue to follow this story.

How long does it take elected officials to get broken lights fixed?

From DNA Info:

Local officials are calling for an investigation after the traffic lights at the intersection of 31st Street and Ditmars Boulevard — one of the busiest intersections in Astoria — failed three times in the last two weeks, setting up a potentially dangerous situation, officials said.

So far there has not been an accident, but Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) says that “Relying solely on drivers’ and pedestrians’ use of caution as they cross these streets is foolhardy and unacceptable."

The intersection is only a half-block from the last stop on the N/Q subway line and is surrounded by commercial businesses and bus stops.

The most recent failure took place last Friday during the morning rush — the third time in the last two weeks.

It's not clear how long the lights were not functional during the outage, but the problem has also occurred sporadically in the past, officials say.

That's a great photo but it doesn't show that the light is broken.