Glendale St. Change Aims To Slow Speeders
Changing the direction of a portion of a one-way street in Glendale in an effort to stop speeding drivers was the focus of a meeting of Community Board 5′s Transportation and Public Transit committees last Tuesday, May 22, in Glendale.
The session was originally scheduled to take place at Redeemer Lutheran School in Glendale, but was moved to Board 5’s office since the Department of Transportation (DOT) was not ready to present its proposal for the Public Plaza project at the Glendale Memorial Triangle.
Instead, DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy ofby fered a plan to reverse a portion of the one-way Doran Avenue between Woodhaven Boulevard and 89th Avenue from westbound to eastbound.
McCarthy stated that the suggestion stemmed from a study of streets in eastern Glendale launched by the DOT as a result of requests from local residents and City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. The study area was bounded on the north by Doran Avenue, on the south by 76th Avenue, on the east by Woodhaven Boulevard and on the west by 88th Street.
“The big issue was speeding,” the borough commissioner said, pointing out that the DOT found that drivers attained an average speed of 32 mph along Doran Avenue. Though this met a key requirement in permitting the installation of a speed hump along the roadway, McCarthy stated that the DOT could not find a suitable location for one since there are “too many driveways and curb cuts.”
The DOT concluded changing the one-block section of Doran Avenue from westbound to eastbound since it was “felt that most of the” speeding traffic came from the parking lot of the Chase bank at the corner of Doran Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard, according to McCarthy.
“If it’s eastbound, people can’t turn down that street,” she said.
Some of the westbound traffic diverted from Doran Avenue would likely wind up onto RutledgeAvenue located a block south, but the commissioner noted that the DOT’s study concluded that the impact would be minimal. It was noted that the number of cars at peak hours traveling on RutledgeAvenue (17) were far below the number on Doran Avenue (70).
Should the one-way proposal for Doran Avenue be approved and implemented, McCarthy told the committee that the DOT would conduct a follow-up speed reduction study along Rutledge, 74th and 75th avenues. Since each roadway is more suited to have speed humps, she explained, the DOT will consider installing the devices on any of those streets if speeding is found to be a problem.
Even so, committee member Patricia Grayson observed that the oneway change on Doran Avenue is “going to be horrendous” for residents living in apartment houses on Rutledge Avenue.
To make turns and sightlines easier for drivers, the commissioner added, the DOT is also recommending instituting “daylighting” (no standing) regulations at Rutledge, 74th and 75th avenues atWoodhaven Boulevard. The daylighting rule is already in place on the southbound service road of Woodhaven Boulevard at each of the three intersections.
Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri and committee member Dorie Figliola suggested to McCarthy that the DOT again permit u-turns on Woodhaven Boulevard at Metropolitan Avenue from northbound to southbound to allow local residents easier access to Rutledge, 74th and 75th avenues. Should the Doran Avenue proposal be implemented, he noted, Glendale motorists would need to turn west on Metropolitan Avenue to either Aubrey or Cooper avenues, taking them out of their way in the process.
Asked about other alternatives to the plan, McCarthy noted that residents had asked the DOT to consider turning Doran, Rutledge, 74th and 75th avenues into one-way streets in alternating directions. The agency, however, concluded in the study that such changes were not necessary since the traffic on the roadways excluding Doran Avenue were low.
Arcuri stated that the board would hold a public hearing on the proposed changes at its July meeting, then all members would vote on the plan at the session following a brief caucus by the Transportation Committee.
Waiting for station renewal plans
District Manager Gary Giordano mentioned that the MTA plans to begin its station renewal projects at the Fresh Pond Road, Seneca Avenue and Forest Avenue stations on the M line in Ridgewood this summer. But Arcuri noted that the board has yet to learn if the MTA had taken the committees’ requests for the project, voiced at an earlier meeting with authority officials, “into consideration.”
“The biggest issue for the Fresh Pond Road station is taking down the ramp” leading to the station from Fresh Pond Road, Grayson observed. The ramp is located adjacent to the entrance of the Fresh Pond Road bus depot.
The MTA had announced plans to tear down the ramp in favor of a sidewalk and a staircase leading to the mezzanine.
“We need to see the documents,” Arcuri added. “If you take down that ramp, people are going to get run over.” He stated that the committees recommended installing a fence along the new sidewalk to prevent commuters from walking into the depot’s entrance.
The board chairperson stated that the panels also urged the MTA to beautify the entrance to the Fresh Pond Road station at 62nd Street, observing that it currently “looks industrial” though it is located on a residential block.
“All they need to do is put some plants there,” Arcuri said.
Other news
Regarding the Glendale public plaza project-which aims to turn a short stretch of 70th Street between Myrtle and Cooper avenues into a beautified public space-the committees agreed to reschedule its meeting on the project for Tuesday night, June 26, at Redeemer Lutheran School.
McCarthy stated that the DOT is also working on changes to the configuration of the intersection of Cooper Avenue, 73rd Place and 78th Avenue. Committee members repeated their suggestion of increased drainage at the northeast corner of 78th Avenue and 73rd Place after a large puddle was observed at the location following a recent storm.
The borough commissioner added that the DOT is also preparing a report regarding the impact of the Maspeth Truck Bypass route, which will be presented to the committees at a future meeting.
Giordano announced that the DOT’s Bureau of Highways has indicated that it would resurface Myrtle Avenue between Fresh Pond Road and Wyckoff Avenue in Ridgewood during overnight hours later this summer.
Arcuri stated that, based on a request of a committee resolution submitted by Civics United for Railroad and Environmental Solutions (CURES), he would send a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo appealing for action to compel the MTA and Long Island Rail Road to purchase new, more bio-friendly locomotives for use at the Fresh Pond Railyard in Glendale. The engines would replace “tier 0” locomotives currently in use which reportedly emit large amounts of noise and air pollution.
Traffic safety requests
The committees approved a recommendation by the DOT to install a speed hump along Mount Olivet Crescent between Eliot and Metropolitan avenues in Middle Village.
Based on requests submitted by residents, they also asked the DOT to consider installing a new traffic signal at the corner of 81st Street and Myrtle Avenue in Glendale and instituting no parking regulations from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. in front of a new business on 60th Lane in Glendale.
The next Community Board 5 Transportation and Public Transit committees meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday night, June 19, at a location to be announced. For more information, call Board 5’s Glendale office at 1-718-366-1834.
