DOT Sets New Safety Projects For Queens Boulevard

Along Queens Boulevard, drivers and pedestrians will often see signs reading "A pedestrian was killed crossing here Be alert Cross with care." It is the plethora of signs like these that inspired a recent announcement by Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Iris Weinshall and Mayor Michael Bloomberg that the DOT has begun yet another round of engineering improvements along the Boulevard of Death.
Zero Is The Goal
"Although we have drastically reduced the hazards facing pedestrians who use Queens Boulevard, we will keep focusing on them until we can drive the amount of fatalities each year to zero," said Mayor Bloomberg.
From 1993 to 2000, 72 people died on the 7.1-mile stretch of roadway. In 2001, there were four fatalities; in 2002, there were two; and in 2003, five people died while crossing the boulevard. Now, the DOT is focusing on two areas: the 3.5-mile length between Van Dam Street and the Long Island Expressway (LIE) entrance and the 1-mile long segment from Union Turnpike to Hillside Avenue. Improvements will include narrowing the service roads between 50th Street and the LIE entrance, realigning the westbound movement at Hillside Avenue, lane restriping, installation of 150-second traffic signal lengths giving pedestrians more time to cross, and preventing u-turns at 65th Place between the boulevard and Woodside Avenue.
Last month, the DOT installed "Quik Curb" plastic barriers at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 65th Place as part of this initiative. The curbs keep cars in specified turning lanes, which controls traffic and offers more protection to pedestrians. The eventual implementation of leading "pedestrian intervals" will give pedestrians a period of time to cross the boulevard in which all traffic is frozen, including vehicles making turns.
"In addition to the changes announced today, DOT completed many initiatives, including increasing crossing time for pedestrians during peak period from 63rd Drive to 83rd Avenue, adding two more red-light cameras, adding pedestrian fencing from Hillside to Roosevelt Avenues, and installing signs in more than 400 locations," said Commissioner Iris Weinshall.