A series of proposals made by Councilman Robert Holden to add traffic control at several intersections in his district has been turned down by the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT).
Holden had requested that a traffic light be installed at 69th Street and 60th Avenue in Maspeth, arguing that adding signage in the area would slow down traffic, make it easier for pedestrians to cross the street and reduce the number of collisions along this stretch of road.
“It’s a bad corner,” Holden said regarding the intersection. “It’s also dangerous for pedestrians because there is a six-block stretch [from] 69th Street where there’s no crosswalk. Installing a traffic light in the middle of this stretch of road at 60th Avenue will slow down traffic and prevent dangerous collisions from occurring.”
Several accidents have occurred due to the lack of traffic control in this area, according to Holden, including two collisions in the past month. Additionally, there have been several collisions making left-hand turns on the Long Island Expressway service road, often ending with the vehicles on the sidewalk.
In a letter sent from the DOT to Holden, the DOT said the request was turned down due to additional traffic controls not meeting nationally recognized traffic engineering safety standards.
“The community requested that 78th Avenue have some traffic calming measures, whether it’s speed bumps, stop signs, whatever it was, that will calm traffic, and then we get turned down,” Holden said.
Holden said his office has sent out several requests to the DOT to add traffic lights and other traffic regulations throughout his district, but the DOT has denied each one.
In a letter sent to the DOT from Robert Holden’s office on Dec. 7, he stated that his office requested speed bumps along 68th Street and a traffic study for 69th Street, both of which were denied.
“They reject 99% of my my safety requests — literally 99% — and it’s disgusting,” Holden said.
The DOT has told QNS that they are reviewing Holden’s request for Traffic regulations in the area.
