By Howard Koplowitz
“This area in this district is very busy,” Meng said during a Dec. 28 news conference, where he stood in front of the Starbucks by the intersection.He said his office and CB 7 have received complaints requesting a left-handed turning signal northbound on Main Street, although neither he nor CB 7 Chairwoman Marilyn Bitterman would say exactly how many complaints they got.Meng spokeswoman Grace Meng said the assemblyman's office has seen a spike in complaints currently about pedestrians who have the right of way at the same time vehicles are making a left-hand turn onto 41st Avenue.”You find that pedestrians and drivers are in conflict,” Bitterman said. She said drivers should have a turning arrow “to make the left turn safely.” “I hope the DOT realizes this isn't the safest of intersections,” she said.In a letter dated Nov. 14 to DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy, Meng requested that the agency conduct a traffic study that would look at the intersection. Grace Meng noted that left-hand turning signals exist on Northern Boulevard in North Flushing.Kevin Liu, the owner of Mega Academy on Main Street by the intersection, said he was particularly concerned about the traffic situation because of the youngsters who attend his school.”It's hard to make a left,” said Liu, who has been in the neighborhood for 15 years. “Traffic wasn't bad back then,” he said, referring to when he first came to Flushing, but it has seen massive growth since that time. Bitterman said she was not sure exactly when complaints about the intersection originated, but she aid they had been reported before Meng was elected in 2004. Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
