The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) will be starting the process of converting several Glendale intersections into one-way roads, making them less congested for drivers and safer for pedestrians.
On June 26, the DOT will begin turning the intersection of 60th Lane between Cooper Avenue and 75th Avenue going northbound into a one-way street. Then, on June 28, the DOT will begin converting the intersection of 64th Street between 75th Avenue and Cooper Avenue going southbound into a one-way street. And on June 29, the DOT will convert the road of 64th Place between Cooper Avenue and Cypress Hills Street going northbound into a one-way.
Christina Sovereign, president of the Liberty Park Homeowners Association (LPHOA), who pushed for the one-way street, said that the DOT had school traffic safety agents conduct a study along 60th Lane near P.S. 68. The agents found that the road was very “tight” and could not accommodate buses when there was traffic in both directions.
“It’s two-way traffic, so if there’s another car coming in the opposite direction, a bus could not go down the road,” Sovereign said. “It would have to wait for the other car to pass and then go down the road.”
Adam Serafin, a resident living on 64th Street, launched a petition so that people in the community could join forces to ensure their voices were heard. He said that there is a dead end on 64 Street and drivers would often ignore the sign and sometimes hit cars and damage property.
“I live on the dead end block on the 64th Street, where people don’t pay attention to the signs,” Serafin said. “We had multiple situations where the people would drive back, they would speed and brake at the very end of the dead end, then hit some cars [and] damage property.”
The petition he launched gained over 100 signatures from concerned residents.
He told QNS he is happy that other neighborhood streets were being converted into one-way roads.
“I was actually happy that the other streets are also taken into consideration to be changed by the 64th Place and 60th Lane,” Serafin said.
Councilman Robert Holden, whose office worked with the Liberty Park Homeowners Association, Community Board 5 (CB5) and the DOT, stated that Liberty Park residents would soon benefit from the street conversions.
“For too long, residents have dealt with safety concerns and other issues stemming from the current makeup of these streets,” Holden said. “Thanks to the Liberty Park Homeowners Association, Community Board 5 and the DOT for working with my office to find a solution that will benefit residents.”
A DOT spokesperson told QNS that the agency is looking forward to implementing the one-way conversions in Glendale.
