Streetsblog New York City

As we've recently seen in Astoria, DOT doesn't always bring innovative traffic calming tools to streets that need them. What happens when they do? At a community board meeting in Rego Park last week, the agency rolled out a broad selection of ideas including neckdowns, road diets, and pedestrian refuges. The Queens CB 6 transportation committee seemed ready to listen -- except when discussion briefly turned to the possibility of eliminating parking spaces.

DOT presented two plans to improve safety in Forest Hills and Rego Park, including a preliminary Safe Streets for Seniors proposal which encompasses a significant stretch of the traffic nightmare that is Queens Boulevard. Although the committee didn't vote on either one, members by and large reacted favorably.

Rego Park is home to one of 25 "Senior Pedestrian Focus Areas" that DOT has targeted for safety improvements due to a high density of crashes involving older pedestrians. Throughout the focus area, said DOT's Hillary Poole, signals will be recalibrated to give pedestrians more time to cross the street, and deteriorating pedestrian infrastructure will be replaced or refurbished. The project might also include some combination of high-visibility crosswalks, neckdowns, pedestrian refuge islands, road narrowing, or leading pedestrian intervals, pending results of a DOT study. The agency hasn't yet decided whether Queens Boulevard itself would receive a much-needed expansion of pedestrian space, but a wide variety of safety improvements are on the table for the whole area.

These ideas went over well with the committee, which seemed eager for some immediate action. One member asked whether the focus area could be expanded to a few intersections he felt were missing. Committee chair John Dereszewski told the DOT presenters that "if there's anything that doesn't have any cost, like signs or paint, you shouldn't wait for the final report."

Read more...

 

Here's another opportunity for livable streets advocates to make themselves heard tonight: DOT will be hosting a public input session regarding congestion on Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens, focusing on the area between Queens Boulevard and Liberty Avenue.

Subjects to be discussed include: Traffic Volume, Roadway Alignment, Mass Transit, Physical Constraints and the Service Road.

There have been over half a dozen pedestrian fatalities and scores of ped- and bike-involved crashes on and along Woodhaven since 1995, according to Transportation Alternatives' CrashStat. So presumably safety will be part of the discussion as well.

• Time: 5:30 p.m.
  
• Location: Forest Hills Community Library, 108-19 71st Avenue (between Queens Boulevard and 110th Street)
• More info: Andrew Lenton, NYC DOT: 212-676-7985

Map of Woodhaven/Queens Blvd/LIE interchange: CrashStat

Speaking of the upcoming second round of citywide parking workshops, the summary of Round 1 is now online at the Department of Transportation's web site. To get a sense of why it's so essential for non-car owners and livable streets advocates to attend the second round of parking workshops (especially in Queens), download the summary memorandum.

It's pretty dry reading but there is some interesting material on pages 9 to 11 under the header, "Neighborhood-Specific Discussions." For example, in the Forest Hills, Queens workshop:

Some participants felt that it was a right of residents to own cars because of the distance between Forest Hills and the Manhattan urban core. Those defending car ownership rights felt that it was the compromise made to not live as close to Manhattan.

Interesting, this "right" to own a car. I wonder if Queens car owners' rights include the right to free, convenient parking? Let me double check my copies of the U.S. Constitution and the New York City Charter and see if I can dig that up...

Just in case you thought all of the bike-related news today was good, a Streetsblog tipster in Queens reports that Parks and Recreation Dept. agents were clipping bike locks and seizing bicycles in Forest Hills, Queens yesterday. She was told by a city employee that the bike seizures are part of a new, citywide Parks Dept. policy. I have a call in to the Parks Department public information office to confirm this story and find out what's going on. Here is her letter to Streetsblog:

Dear Streetsblog Staff,
 
As you may remember, a couple months ago, Mayor Bloomberg authorized the NYPD to seize hundreds of bikes in Manhattan which were parked "illegaly" on city property.
 
Yesterday, I was shocked to find a similar incident occuring in my neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens as rangers from the City Parks and Recreation Department cutting chains to confiscate bicycles on 71st - Continental Avenue and Austin Street.
 
Later, I went to the Parks Department in Flushing Meadows Corona Park where the truck full of confiscated bicycles sat to get the scoop. Here, Captain Kenneth Brown informed me that today began a citywide campaign involving the City Parks and Recreation Department. This time all bikes chained to city trees or to the metal fencing around those trees will be seized in neighborhoods throughout the 5 boroughs. Bikes are then taken by truck to the nearest Parks Department Headquarters where they are held for 2-3 days before being sent to a depot in Long Island. In order to retrieve your bicycle, you must pay a $50 summons - that is if you can find it.

According to the Captain Brown, bicycles are only considered to be parked "legally" to bicycle racks. Unfortunately, the city does not provide proper bike racks here as in many other neighborhoods. The citizens of Forest Hills and surrounding areas rely on bicycle transportation for lack of reliable and adequate public transportation.

We'll let you know what the Parks Dept. has to say.