4 TIMES • OCTOBER 15, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com Woodhaven Boulevard crash study numbers released BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport More than 1,200 people were injured — and eight people died — in accidents along Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards over a 2 1/2-year period, according to transit advocates. Last month the BRT for NYC coalition, a group of labor unions, advocates and business associations that support the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plan, announced the fi ndings of their newest study analyzing the crash patterns along the Woodhaven Boulevard/Cross Bay Boulevard BRT corridor. The study found that along Woodhaven Boulevard, there have been more than 1,200 injuries and eight fatalities between July 2012 and December 2014. A representative from the Department of Transportation (DOT) verifi ed those statistics with The Courier. The inclusion of the Cross Bay Boulevard section raises that number to 1,243 injuries, according to BRT for NYC’s fi ndings. “Recent car and bus crashes on Woodhaven Boulevard have gotten a lot of attention, but unfortunately they’re nothing new. We need transportation options that are safe for bus riders, for car drivers and for pedestrians trying to cross the street,” said John Raskin, executive director of Riders Alliance, member of BRT for NYC. “Bus Rapid Transit will help thousands of people get to work and get around the neighborhood, but it will also make the street safer.” The BRT for NYC coalition highlighted fi ve of the most dangerous intersections along the Woodhaven/Cross Bay BRT corridor. Those intersections are as follows: •101st Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard – 42 crashes • Jamaica Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard – 38 crashes •Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard – 32 crashes • Atlantic Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard – 32 crashes •Rockaway Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard – 30 crashes. “We can vastly reduce the number of crashes on these deadly intersections by implementing BRT,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “With dedicated bus With dedicated bus lanes and an overall safer environment for drivers and pedestrians, BRT can help mitigate the risk at these dangerous intersections along Woodhaven Bus Rapid Transit corridor.” --Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives lanes and an overall safer environment for drivers and pedestrians, BRT can help mitigate the risk at these dangerous intersections along Woodhaven Bus Rapid Transit corridor.” Advocates for the BRT plan believe that it will make Woodhaven Boulevard, and roadways like it, safer for commuters, drivers and pedestrians. “As a rider and pedestrian who commutes and walks respectively along Woodhaven Boulevard, I see these dangerous intersections fi rsthand. BRT can make my neighborhood safer,” said Ruben Ramales, Woodhaven resident and Riders Alliance member. “Every time I see someone having to sprint across Woodhaven, I think of how much it needs a street redesign.” According to the DOT, a BRT or Select Bus Service (SBS) option along Woodhaven Boulevard will provide substantial improvements to a key bus corridor, and a critical connection to other regional transit modes. Woodhaven Boulevard provides the only substantial north-south transit connection through this section of Queens. The DOT proposes that a dedicated right-of-way for bus service will help the over 31,000 people that ride the bus on this corridor every day and suffer from slow or unreliable bus trips. Additionally, a BRT or SBS plan could help calm traffi c along Woodhaven Boulevard, which is one of the most dangerous in the city in terms of crashes and injuries per mile, as this study shows. “The goal of the proposed Woodhaven Boulevard SBS project is to expand transit options for Queens residents by making bus service faster and more reliable, while also providing safety benefi ts for pedestrians and drivers, and maintaining traffi c fl ow along a high-crash corridor,” said a spokesperson for the DOT. “NYC DOT and the MTA will continue outreach and dialogue with stakeholders and the community in a variety of settings in the coming months as we design this critical safety and transit-oriented project.” To conduct the analysis, Transportation Alternatives, a member of the BRT for NYC Steering Committee, used traffi c crash data along Woodhaven Boulevard from July 2012 to Dec. 2014, sourced from the NYPD’s Motor Vehicle Collisions Database. 104th Precinct rolls out Vision Zero initiative Photo via Twitter @NYPD104Pct The 104th Precinct has launched a Vision Zero initiative to educate the public on Vision Zero. BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport In an effort to increase public awareness and knowledge of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan, the 104th Precinct and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are conducting a two-week Vision Zero initiative throughout the confi nes of the precinct. This initiative, which kicked off on Monday, Oct. 12, and will run daily through Sunday, Oct. 25, was created to make a concerted effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians — who are at an increased risk for serious injuries on city streets — that result from careless driving. In order to help the public understand the Vision Zero initiative, the 104th Precinct and the DOT have come up with the “Three E’s” to achieve their mission: education, engineering and enforcement. To educate people about Vision Zero, precinct personnel, along with representatives from the DOT, will be at the busiest intersections throughout the precinct providing informative material that will help explain Vision Zero to the public. These locations include the following: -Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue -69th Street and Grand Avenue -Woodhaven Boulevard and Cooper Avenue -Maurice Avenue and Borden Avenue For the engineering phase of the initiative, there will be variable message signs put up throughout the precinct with messages about Vision Zero for both motorists and pedestrians. Some of these signs are already up at Cypress Avenue and Vermont Place; Myrtle Avenue and Fresh Pond Road; Metropolitan Avenue and 60th Street; and 69th Street and Grand Avenue, with more to follow. The fi nal component of the Vision Zero initiative will be enforcement. During the second week of the initiative — starting on Monday, Oct. 19 — offi cers will conduct Vision Zero enforcement throughout the precinct. This enforcement will target hazardous violations that contribute to deaths and injuries on New York City streets. Some examples these violations include speeding, making improper turns, using a cellphone while driving and failure to yield to pedestrians. For more information about Vision Zero and this initiative, visit www.nyc.gov/visionzero or call the 104th Precinct at 718-386-3004. TIMES NEWSWEEKLY (USPS 465-940) is published weekly by Schneps NY Media LLC, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361.
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