Street Safety News Roundup for Queens

Lots of streetscape news for Queens this morning, which will see some significant safety improvements soon. Here’s a roundup:

• The NY Daily News reports that Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative will debut in Woodside. The city plans to improve the intersection of Northern Boulevard and 61st Street, where an unlicensed tractor trailer driver hit and killed an 8-year-old boy. Improvements include pedestrian islands, longer walk signals, “school” markings painted on each crosswalk and the elimination of the left turn onto 61st Street.
• DNAinfo reports that the Department of Transportation installed a metal railing on Broadway near 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, in response to a bus fatality in the area. According to the DOT, “The agency continues to review the area for further safety enhancements and we welcome input from community stakeholders on this.”
• Queens Courier reports that yesterday U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley introduced the Pedestrian Fatalities Reduction Act of 2014, requiring states to focus federal resources in areas with increases in pedestrian fatalities or injuries. He made the announcement near a corner of Northern Boulevard where a boy was struck while going to school. Crowley stated: “The recent string in traffic related deaths in and around Queens demands our immediate attention to find solutions. We need to ensure the federal highway safety funds at their disposal are put toward achieving our goal of reducing pedestrian fatalities to zero.”
• Finally, there are two meeting scheduled this week in regards to street improvements through Queens. First, DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Dalila Hall will update Community Board Two on the Pulaski Bridge Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement Project (pictured above). Meeting details here. Second, the DOT will host a community workshop tomorrow on the Jamaica Bay Greenway, a proposed 28-mile pedestrian and bike path. Meeting details here.