Residents of Maspeth will be seeing plenty of the Department of Transportation (DOT) as the agency is preparing to conduct traffic studies for nearly a dozen prospective projects throughout the neighborhood.
After preliminary reviews of 11 intersections across Maspeth, the DOT will be performing traffic studies for:
- A dedicated turn lane of signal at the intersection of 74th Street and Grand Avenue;
- A traffic signal request at 69th Street and 52nd Drive;
- A dedicated left turn lane or left turn signal request at 54th Avenue at 69th Street;
- Resurfacing request on 80th Street between the Long Island Expressway Service Road and Eliot Avenue;
- A dedicated left turn signal request for 69th Street onto Grand Avenue eastbound and Grand Avenue onto 69th Street northbound;
- A “Stop Here on Red” sign requested at 69th Street at 53rd Avenue;
- Dedicated lane markings on 65th Place at Hamilton Avenue;
- Dedicated lane markings on Hamilton Place at Borden Avenue;
- Dedicated lane markings on Hamilton Place at Queens Midtown Expressway;
- Sign replacement for the faded signs on 69th Street from Queens Boulevard to Grand Avenue; and
- Refurbished street markings at the intersection of 55th Avenue and Haspel Street.
“We have a lot of locations where the lane markings are worn away so they need to be restriped, that is very important, especially when you’re driving at night,” said Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5 (CB 5). “A lot of the lane markings are overdue for restriping.”
On behalf of CB 5, Giordano requested a traffic signal study at 69th Street and 52nd Drive when DOT said they were going to convert 70th Street to a one way northbound road between 54th Avenue and 51st Avenue.
When it comes to the resurfacing project on 80th Street, Giordano believes that additional work may need to be done at the site.
“That is a very wavy roadway, especially when you are just north of Caldwell [Avenue] on the west side of 80th Street,” he said. “Something more than resurfacing will need to be done there. DOT did a good job over the about five years ago, but it has sunk again. I don’t know if resurfacing alone is going to be able to resolve that situation.”
Overall, these traffic studies should help drivers and pedestrians better navigate the roads across Maspeth.
