New traffic signals may halt accidents in Ozone Park

Pedestrian accidents at three dangerous intersections along Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park are poised to decrease as a result of the new traffic signals installed there, according to a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT).
Craig Chin said the agency recently upgraded the two-phase traffic signals located at the corners of Liberty Avenue with 104th, 108th and 114th Streets to three-phase signals. Two-phase signals contain red and green lights while three-phase signals have an amber light to alert pedestrians two to three seconds before the light turns red.
The new signals are mounted to an overhead elevated train structure, which should make them more visible than the old signals.
According to Chin, 12 reported accidents occurred at the three intersections in 2006, up from eight in 2005. Although the majority of accidents at the locations involved pedestrians, none were fatal, he said.
The intersections of Liberty Avenue with 116th Street, where a single accident was reported in 2005, and 126th Street, where no accidents were reported in the past two years, also received three-phase traffic and pedestrian signals.
New signals are also due to be installed at the intersections of Liberty Avenue with 102nd and 118th Streets in the coming weeks, Chin said.