Photo: Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (l.) this week urged the city DOT to study and improve dangerous intersections in Lindenwood. Courtesy of Assemblyman Goldfeder’s Office.
An area elected official this week sent a letter to the city Department of Transportation, calling on the agency to conduct a comprehensive study of traffic patterns in Lindenwood and make pedestrian-safety improvements to “high-risk” intersections in the Howard Beach neighborhood.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) issued the missive to DOT Acting Queens Borough Commissioner Jeff Lynch, citing constituent complaints and concern from civic leaders about the “dangerous” roadways. Goldfeder referred to poor pedestrian visibility at the service ramps to the Belt Parkway off Cross Bay Boulevard; and the absence of crosswalks at the traffic triangle at 153rd Avenue and 88th Street as particularly troubling areas.
Goldfeder urged Lynch and the agency to study the major intersections of Lindenwood, which are fed from the Conduit, Belt Parkway and Cross Bay Boulevard—all heavily-trafficked thoroughfares. Additionally, Goldfeder asked the DOT to install more crosswalks at the traffic triangle at 153rd Avenue and 88th Street, calling the intersection “confusing” and difficult to cross for the community’s large senior population.
“Lindenwood families should not have to fear for their lives when crossing the streets,” Goldfeder said. “The Department of Transportation needs to take an aggressive approach to this problem before someone gets hurt.”
Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic, noted that community leaders and officials “have long fought” for improvements at the service ramps and the traffic triangle.
“A blind eye can no longer be turned,” Ariola said. “Safety measures must be put in place. Not just a band-aid, but common sense safety measures.”
A DOT spokesman acknowledged that the agency had received Goldfeder’s note, and that it would be looking into reviewing pedestrian safety measures and pavement markings for the intersections.
Goldfeder seems to have made traffic safety a top priority. In 2013, he helped to secure the installation of a mobile speed board on 153rd Avenue at 83rd Street alerting motorists to crossing students and parents outside nearby MS 232. And last December, Goldfeder worked with DOT to repair and install fences on Conduit Avenue where students were crossing the dangerous roadway.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
