43rd Street (between 43rd and Skillman Avenues)
Feb. 24, 2016 By Michael Florio
A Sunnyside mother has started a petition looking to protect children who have to cross 43rd Street near Skillman Avenue.
Kristen McGowan, who lives on 44th Street, launched a petition yesterday urging the Department of Transportation (DOT) to install two speed bumps along 43rd Street.
The first bump would go between 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave and the other would go between Skillman and Barnett Ave.
The online petition has already generated 130 signatures.
McGowan said that drivers constantly speed along 43rd Street.
“It’s like they are racing to beat the next light,” she said.
McGowan said the constant speeding is especially dangerous given the high volume of children who cross the busy street. She said P.S. 150’s annex and Lou Lodati Park are located along this stretch.
Her four-year-old son and five-year-old nephew both attend the P.S. 150 Annex.
“It’s really important to get one on the block of P.S. 150 [Annex],” McGowan said.
She aims to get more than 250 signatures. She will present the petition to Community Board 2, the DOT and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.
Another local mother, Jen Crammer, who lives on 43rd Street and has two young boys, said that she too has been calling for speed bumps.
“The need for a speed bump to deter speeding on a very busy street is necessary, especially when there is a school on the same street,” she said. “I think we all feel that it’s just a matter of time before someone gets hit by a car.”
“I think because 43rd Street is a link between Queens Boulevard and Northern Boulevard the temptation to speed is greater,” she added.
Crammer reached out to the DOT with the request for a speed bump at the beginning of the year. The agency wrote back to her on Jan. 11 and said it would look into it.
