Board 6 Focuses On ‘Sectoring’ Plow Plan
The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) outlined its new snow removal plan for this coming winter season during Community Board 6 meeting last Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Kew Gardens Community Center.
As the snow fell outside, DSNY Community Affairs Liaison, Bruno Iciano laid forth the Department’s new plan for removing any snowfall during this winter.
“The pilot program … is called Sectoring,” Iciano said, which will do away with priority zoning for snow plows in the district. “The sectoring will be done in a similar way we do the collection.”
Prior to this new plan, snow plows were sent out to high priority areas first, such as expressways, schools and hospitals. Then they focused on high-traffic areas, followed by side streets.
Now snow plows and salt spreaders will be given specific routes within the district, just as the trash collection trucks are, and must complete the snow removal for that route.
The new sectoring system is expected to be more successful than the previous priority zoning plan.
After the heavy winter storms of last year, the DSNY is also trying out some new equipment for this year. Bobcat Front-end loaders will be sent out to help clear bus stops, crosswalks and other high-traffic areas around Queens that larger plows will find difficult to navigate, Iciano told the board.
Before any amount of snowfall, Iciano said the first thing the DSNY does is prepare. Throughout the year they make sure their snow removal equipment are well maintained and stocks of rock salt are adequate.
Iciano informed those in attendance, “whenever we are going to get into some sort of a blizzard, we always do a press conference.” This will inform the people of the severity of the storm and steps that will be taken to remove the snow as quickly as possible.
When the first snow falls the salt spreaders are sent out as the first line of defense to prevent roads from becoming icy. Once two-inches of snow accumulates, the plows are sent out.
For more information call 311 or visit the DSNY website at www.nyc.gov/dsny
TLC Updates
The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) was also at the board meeting to inform the community about updates with the new Vision Zero plan.
Justine Johnson, TLC’s director of external affairs, explained the new guidelines for drivers of taxi cabs.
Drivers will soon have their licenses summarily suspended when they are charged with a crime after a crash. They will also be subject to a fitness review to see if they are fit enough to get behind the wheel again, after a major accident, Johnson explained.
The TLC is now able to use the data received from red light cameras to identify TLC drivers who break traffic laws. Currently drivers are being issued warnings for violating traffic laws, but “effective Jan. 1, 2015 drivers who do run red lights will begin to receive summonses,” Johnson said.
Soon livery cabs within the area will be fitted with GPS equipment to track cab drivers and have that information sent to the TLC. This will help identify specific cabs and where they were during certain times to help with consumer complaints.
Transportation Committee
Board 6 stated the Department of Transportation (DOT) will implement a rule banning drivers from making left turns onto Queens Boulevard from Yellowstone Boulevard due to safety hazards, according to the CB 6 Transportation Committee Report, submitted by committee member John Dereszewski.
Now new problems have occurred with backed up traffic since vehicles that need to access Queens Boulevard have to do so in a more indirect manner.
The Transportation Committee has requested the DOT make more changes to that congested intersection.
The first proposed item in the report is to improve and expand signage. Adding new signs will inform drivers of alternate routes to access Queens Boulevard. With more signs, traffic will lighten as drivers will have clear instructions on how to get where they need to go.
The transportation committee also suggested adding new traffic lights at the Yellowstone Boulevard and 69th Road intersection, as well as at the Queens Boulevard and 69th Road intersection in their report. These lights can help regulate traffic flow for these two high density areas.
A vote needs to be held to approve sending these requests to the DOT since not all members of the board were present for the meeting due to the inclement weather.
Board 6 meetings are normally held on the second Wednesday of each month at 80-02 Kew Gardens Road, Suite 202 at 7:30 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday Jan. 14, 2015.
