After six months, the repaved stretch of Northern Boulevard has been restored with street markings, said Councilman Peter Koo.
In February, Koo and state Senator Toby Stavisky called upon the city Department of Transportation to finish repainting the lines on Northern Boulevard, citing dangerous conditions due to months of no street markings.
Last year, Koo introduced legislation Intro. 1805, that would require all pavement markings be repainted one week after the completion of street resurfacing work. The resurfacing on Northern Boulevard was completed at least two months ago.
“While we understand that construction delays can occur with any project, Northern Boulevard is a major northeast Queens thoroughfare and a designated Vision Zero Priority Corridor that deserves to be treated as a top priority,” Koo said. “The delays we see in Queens are the reason I introduced Intro 1805 that will require the city to paint street markings within a week of any repaving completion. This will ensure these kinds of delay are prevented before construction ever begins, and I look forward to working with my colleagues and our community to make sure our streets are kept safe and in good repair for all commuters.”
Resurfacing on the 1.5-mile stretch of Northern from College Point Boulevard to 156th Street began last fall, but delays stretched the project into the winter preventing the thermoplastic lane markings from sticking. After community complaints, the city placed temporary lane lines, but those markings had faded leaving a dangerous thoroughfare where multiple lanes of traffic have no clear markings to direct vehicle or pedestrian traffic.
Stavisky had commended the DOT for completing much needed paving on Northern Boulevard last year, but insisted the DOT add the finishing touches to the project.
“I am happy to see that the Northern Boulevard markings have been restored,” Stavisky said. “This is a Vision Zero corridor and these lines make it safer for both pedestrians and drivers. I fully support Councilman Koo’s legislation to require markings be replaced one week after repaving so we don’t have to face this issue again.”
Let There Be Lines! Finally, the street markings on the Northern Boulevard #VisionZero Priority corridor are down. We also asked DOT to paint the long neglected portion of Francis Lewis Boulevard north of Northern. Safe travels to all! pic.twitter.com/ymdZSakiAV
— Peter Koo (@CMPeterKoo) March 26, 2019
