The Department of Transportation (DOT) will conduct a full traffic safety study of the area around a dangerous intersection after a community request in the heavily residential neighborhood.
DOT officials, residents, elected officials and representatives from the mayor’s office met on Monday, October 15 to survey a traffic triangle in Lindenwood intersected by 88th Street and 153rd Avenue that has long been a concern in the area.
At September’s Lindenwood Alliance meeting, a number of people brought up concerns about the intersection, particularly that it threatened the safety of children and elderly trying to cross the street.
As a result of the October 15 meeting, the DOT has agreed to comb the entire area, said Claudia Filomena, the Queens director for the mayor’s community affairs office. The study will take roughly six months, she said, and will particularly examine morning and afternoon hours when children are entering and leaving nearby P.S. 232 The Walter Ward School, as well as weekends.
Filomena said DOT representatives were not sure if the intersection could meet the need for a traffic light, but other options — such as stop signs or reshaping the intersection into a cul-de-sac — were being explored.
“DOT is going to be undertaking a safety study for the entire area and looking at any number of different traffic calming measures,” Filomena said.
In the meantime, petitions will be collected to request a school crossing guard in the area. By doing so, Filomena said, drivers will be less inclined to speed when seeing a guard and help stop concerns about children potentially being hurt.
Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder, who has pushed since earlier this year for better traffic safety at the site, said he planned on reaching out to federal officials about some regulations the city is required to follow to amend traffic control.
