After DOT Denial, LIC Kids Act
Local lawmakers were joined by students from P.S./I.S. 78 in Long Island City to focus efforts to bring traffic calming measures to the road, last Friday, May 30.
City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer was joined by State Sen. Michael Gianaris on Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue to bring attention to efforts to increase traffic safety along Center Boulevard.
For over two years Van Bramer has tried to get the Department of Transportaion (DOT) to install traffic signals, stop signs speed humps and crosswalks installed along the street, according to a press release. The street runs adjacent to P.S./I.S. 78, the Academy for Careers in Television and Film High School, Hunters Point South Park, Gantry Plaza State Park and above it are many newly constructed high rise apartment buildings.
These buildings are still welcoming residents and the area’s population is expected to continue to grow, putting an additional strain on local streets, according to Van Bramer’s office. His office asked the DOT to conduct a study on the need for calming measures last year and determined they were not necessary, Jason Banrey, Van Bramer’s communications director said.
A DOT statement, sent to the Times Newsweekly the agency will continue to monitor the situation and make any changes as necessary, but that none were imminent.
“Safety is DOT’s top priority and the agency is re-evaluating the intersections Center Blvd. with 48th and 49th avenues for a stop sign or other traffic control device. These studies are expected to be completed next month and we will provide updates to the community as soon as they are available,” DOT officials said.
“Additionally, DOT and its partners are working on a future capital project to reconstruct Hunters Point streets and other infrastructure to address the recent growth in the area. Traffic calming to make streets safer and work better for all users, especially pedestrians, is a key part of the project.”
During last Friday’s press conference, Van Bramer-with the assistance of P.S./I.S. 78 students- installed a “people’s stop sign” at the corner of Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue, just outside of where the school is located. He and the kids also painted their own crosswalk to continue to urge DOT traffic calming measures.
“Too often drivers treat Center Boulevard like a speedway,” Van Bramer said last Friday. “For years the Department of Transportation has denied the community’s requests to have traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures installed along this growing residential street. Our concerns cannot continue to be ignored.”
Van Bramer has also begun a petition calling on action from DOT, it currently has over 620 signatures and has been posted online, exposing the issue to many thousands of more people.
Banrey stated Van Bramer wants to see “stop signs, speed bumps,” and for the street to be “included in tha mayor’s Vision Zero plan” for the city.
“Kids are scared,” he said.
Banrey added that there have been several traffic accidents at the intersection, according to NYPD collision reports.
