Large big rigs continue to snarl traffic along two of Maspeth’s major roadways, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) is looking to send these trucks down the right path.
In order to get this done, the DOT is continuing with its Maspeth Bypass project, which will work to divert more trucks off of Grand and Flushing avenues and onto the bypass — which is the area of Maspeth Avenue, Maurice Avenue and 58th Street — and into the industrial district by various means.
One way the DOT plans to do this is by implementing a truck enforcement station at the Flushing Avenue underpass where Rust Avenue passes over top, Michael Klatsky, project manager with the DOT, told the Community Board 5 (CB 5) Public Transportation and Public Transit Committees during their joint meeting on May 24.
A truck enforcement station would have a police officer stationed there to make sure that trucks that are not allowed to be on Flushing and Grand avenues do not go that way. As more and more trucks get stopped by the police, DOT hopes the word will spread and truckers will just stop going down that roadway.
“About two weeks ago our project team met with the NYPD’s Truck Enforcement Team as well as the local precinct, and we discussed the various ways how this could work,” Klatsky said. “They’re on board with conducting a temporary enforcement plan to see if this sort of thing can work, and perhaps it would be something more permanent if it works well.”
The second course of action the DOT would take is to add better, more visible overhead signage, alerting truckers to the bypass and to not take Grand or Flushing avenues, Klatsky said.
One option the DOT is looking at is variable message signs (VMS). These signs would be electronically triggered if a truck passes through an infrared beam, causing the sign to alert truck drivers to head toward the bypass.
The DOT has looked into placing cameras at several locations along Grand Avenue, which will track trucks that have made their way onto the street and alert the police of any trucks that remain there too long so they can log repeat offenders.
Another way to keep trucks off of Grand and Flushing avenues is to make those roadways more pedestrian friendly, essentially making them less enticing for trucks to come down.
“There are things we can do to make [Grand Avenue] less attractive,” Klatsky explained. “We can implement treatments like curb extension, install street trees and shorter crossings … we know there are certain things that trucks don’t like and we can put them in.”
Klatsky informed the committees that DOT has no plans for installing changes to Grand Avenue and the ideas presented were just options to consider.
The next steps for this plan include developing a draft of a master plan and meeting with the Industrial Business Zone (IBZ) and Community Board 2 (CB 2). They plan on implementing the public input into the final master plan.
