Residents along 65th Place in Maspeth are tired of cars speeding down their block and are calling on the city Department of Transportation (DOT) to install a traffic light.
Eileen Sikorski, a resident of the Ridgewood Gardens apartment buildings on 65th Place, made a plea for assistance at last Wednesday’s Community Board 5 meeting.
“We need to give everyone a chance to make it across the street safely,” Sikorski said.
Without any effective traffic measures, drivers speed down 65th Place to catch the light at Maurice Avenue, Sirkoski said. The only traffic measure on the street is a blinking yellow light, which cautions drivers to slow down and watch for pedestrians and other traffic.
“[The light] does nothing. Cars come down the street at top speed,” Sirkoski said.
Besides making it dangerous for residents of the apartment buildings to cross the street, Sikorski said the speeding cars are a hazard to young children, especially with P.S. 29 a block away on Maurice Avenue and 67th Place.
Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, said the board’s transportation committee has looked at the situation before. Several requests for an all-way stop sign were denied by the DOT, he said.
On March 24, the board sent a letter to the DOT that recommended the flashing yellow light be converted into a flashing red light—the equivalent of a stop sign.
“There’s a lot of people living in the apartment buildings there,” Giordano said. “They really don’t have safe passage to get to the stores across the street.”
The DOT said it has received the request at the area and is currently studying the street to determine if any changes should be made.
By Eric Yun
