A new “smart signal” has arrived in Bayside.
The intersection of 26th Avenue and Corporal Kennedy Street is now equipped with a state-of-the-art left turn signal. DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Nicole Garcia, State Senator Tony Avella and City Councilman Paul Vallone unveiled the long-awaited improvement on Oct. 2.
The new signal is linked to a wireless roadway sensor, referred to as a “puck,” embedded into the ground. When a vehicle drives over the sensor, a signal is sent that the left turn signal is needed. When a car is not detected, the left turn signal is skipped.
The sensors are designed to survive milling and paving and are battery powered, lasting seven to 10 years, according to DOT. The pucks are being used in all five boroughs and are cheaper and more effective than its older model, the loop detector.
“After working for almost twenty years on this — well before I was in elected office — along with the Bay Terrace Community Alliance, I am very happy to know that the heavily trafficked and very busy intersection of 26th Avenue and Corporal Kennedy Street will finally get a left turn signal that so many people have asked for,” Avella said.
Vallone said the new signal was also a victory for the neighborhood’s seniors, who access the nearby Selfhelp Clearview Senior Center by car and on foot.
“This was one of the most common requests we’ve received and while it may not seem big in the grand scheme of things, this was a long overdue victory for the neighborhood,” the lawmaker said. “Combined with the additional safety enhancements that DOT will be installing along the Corporal Kennedy and 23rd Avenue corridor, we have made great strides towards improving pedestrian and motorist safety in Bayside.”
