Astoria Park Traffic Discussion With DOT Planned This Month

Shore Boulevard (GMaps)

Oct. 8, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge

Astorians will have a chance to speak with local officials and the Department of Transportation about traffic safety around Astoria Park at a workshop-style planning session this month.

Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, Councilman Costa Constantinides and the DOT will host the planning session on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at Bohemian Hall, 29-19 24^th Ave.

Attendees will work with maps in small groups, sharing their concerns and ideas for specific streets, corners and corridors in the Astoria Park vicinity.

“DOT is going to be there to hear concerns in small settings,” Constantinides said. “We’re really looking for input and opportunities for the neighbors to work collaboratively and constructively together… all with the goal of coming up with a comprehensive plan that DOT can eventually implement.”

The planning session follows a petition from Constantinides calling for comprehensive traffic safety improvements around the park, after the fatal hit-and-run of a young woman on Ditmars Boulevard and 19^th Street.

Site of Betty DiBiasio’s death

It also comes on the heels of Simotas’ proposal to the DOT this summer that Shore Boulevard be permanently closed to traffic between Astoria Park South and Ditmars Boulevard, which has been highly polarizing among residents.

When asked whether and how the Shore Boulevard plan would be addressed at the upcoming workshop, Simotas said in a statement, “all of the streets surrounding Astoria Park should be a part of any traffic safety discussion. The format of the upcoming planning session gives all community members an opportunity to share their ideas and is a great way to continue the conversations that I have been having with residents about making the park safer and more accessible.”

For his part, Constantinides said, “Shore Boulevard is part of the network of streets, but not the only street. So we’re going to be looking for ways to keep the entire network of streets safe.”