14 times • JUNE 4, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com Jackie Robinson Parkway shutdowns begin BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@timesnewsweekly.com @robbpoz Closures on portions of the Jackie Robinson Parkway began on the night of June 1 as the state Department of Transportation (DOT) starts to resurface the five-mile-long and winding road between Kew Gardens and Brooklyn. The work began on the eastbound side from the parkway’s Brooklyn terminus at the corner of Jamaica and Pennsylvania avenues to the Cypress Hills Street exit. As reported in the Ridgewood Times, the project will be performed in segments, with the eastbound side completed first. The $17 million project is expected to be finished in mid-August, barring any weather-related delays. Much of the work will be done during weeknight hours from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. the next morning, but portions of the parkway will be shut down entirely on six weekends, from 11 p.m. Friday to 5:30 a.m. the following Monday. The first two weekend closures will occur on June 5 through 8 and June 12 through 15. Drivers will be diverted through marked detour routes passing through neighboring Brooklyn, Ridgewood, Glendale, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens. During the project, crews from The state Department of Transportation is starting a $17 million repaving of the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Tully Construction Company of Flushing — working on behalf of the state DOT — will remove the existing asphalt pavement and repair the concrete roadbed, then apply new asphalt and re-stripe the roadway with new lane markings. Various traffic safety devices, from reflectors to new signage, will also be installed. “The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a critical connector between Brooklyn and Queens, carrying thousands of commuters each day and supporting the local economy,” state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said in a statement. “This project will give more than 82,000 motorists who use the parkway each day a smoother, safer ride.” “Motorists who use the Jackie Robinson Parkway can look forward to a better road experience thanks to this paving project and infrastructure enhancement,” added Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who thanked the DOT and Governor Andrew Cuomo “for making the improvement of the parkway a priority.” Drivers are reminded to travel safely and slowly through work zones; by law, speeding fines are doubled in work zones, and convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone may result in a driver’s license suspension. Improvements coming to dangerous Myrtle Avenue intersection BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport The Department of Transportation (DOT) is about to begin scheduled improvements for the intersection at Forest Avenue, Myrtle Avenue and George Street in Ridgewood. The plans were originally presented to Community Board 5’s Transportation Services and Public Transportation Committees during a meeting in April. The upcoming improvements include installing a concrete curb extension on the south side of the intersection on George Street, realigning and shortening the skewed south crosswalk in order to shorten pedestrian crossing distances, installing high visibility crosswalks at all crossings to increase visibility of pedestrians and adding markings to clarify direction of travel for vehicles on Forest Avenue. The improvements are slated to begin within the first week of June. This intersection was brought to the DOT’s attention because it is located within the Myrtle Avenue priority corridor and has seen a number of vehicle and pedestrian crashes since it is such a high-traffic area. “Judging from the frequency and severity of crashes that occurred here between 2009 and 2013, the intersection has been designated a high pedestrian crash location,” said Arban Vigni, project manager with the DOT, at the April meeting. During that five-year period, there were a total of 18 crashes, six of them involving pedestrians. Two of those crashes led to severe injuries. RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Anthony Giudice The dangerous intersection at Myrtle Avenue, Forest Avenue and George Street in Ridgewood which is receiving upgrades this week from DOT.
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