6 OCTOBER 27, 2016 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM Grand Avenue in Maspeth is next to get bike lanes BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM/ @A_GIUDICEREPORT The ever-expanding Queens bicycle network is coming to Grand Avenue in Maspeth. The city Department of Transportation (DOT) is getting ready to install bicycle route markings along Grand Avenue between 69th and 74th streets. These new bike lanes will help reduce speeding along the roadway, organize traffic and add bicycle connections to the current bike lane network. Right now, Grand Avenue has 25-foot travel and parking lanes on both the east and westbound sides. DOT will break that up into a 9-foot parking lane, 5-foot bike lane, and an 11-foot travel lane on both sides. This will give cyclists a dedicated lane, providing them protection. “More people are riding bicycles and the city is making it a priority to safeguard those people as much as possible,” said Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5 (CB 5). “In DOT’s opinion, and the community board was agreeable to this, this is just another way of hopefully safeguarding the bicyclists. At the same time, it is very important that bicyclists obey traffi c regulations and respect pedestrians and motorists.” Giordano confi rmed that high-visibility crosswalks will also be installed as part of this project, which is scheduled to begin in late October, according to DOT. This project was presented to the CB 5 Transportation and Public Transit committees in February as part of a larger plan which includes adding a concrete curb bump-out at the intersection of Mazeau Street, 57th and Grand avenues, and to convert Mazeau Street to a one-way southbound. DOT is also planning to install a curb extension at the intersection of 69th Place, 69th Lane and 54th Avenue in order to create a direct crosswalk across the intersection, while banning U-Turns there. However, those plans are not included in the work coming at the end of the month, and aren’t likely to come until the spring, Giordano said. Sewer repairs in Greater Ridgewood area is Community Board 5’s top budget priorities again BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT The aging and oft en overtaxed sewer systems in Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth and Ridgewood have caused problems for local residents for years, and Community Board 5 (CB 5) has again made that issue a top priority in its capital budget. Redesigning and reconstructing the sewer system in the portions of the CB 5 area which have seen the worst fl ooding problems topped the CB 5 Fiscal Year 2018 Capital Budget Priorities list adopted on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the board’s meeting in Middle Village. This is the second year in a row that this project has been named the community board’s number one priority. In recent months, areas in Glendale and Middle Village have undergone sewer and water main construction, as new, larger pipes have been installed to help the sewer system handle increased amounts of water during periods of heavy rainfall. The top 10 priorities in the Fiscal Year 2018 Capital Budget are as follows: • Redesign and reconstruct the sewer system; • Provide new catch basins and reconstruct deteriorated catch basins; • Provide new street tree plantings and funding for street tree removals, stump removals, planting of replacement trees, and increased pruning; • Make capital improvements to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety on Grand Avenue at 69th Street, Grand Avenue and the LIE east service road, and at the 69th Street/LIE service road intersections; • Evaluate the structural condition of the elevated M train line, perform repairs and paint the structure; • Fund Phase 2 of the rehabilitation of the Ridgewood Reservoir, including portions of Highland Park; • Repower the polluting Stage Zero freight engines hauling waste through the CB 5 area; • Rehabilitate the Glendale branch of the Queens Library; • Construct an athletic fi eld at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Newtown Creek Aeration Facility property; and • Provide replacement of the synthetic turf ballfi eld and the running track at the west end of Juniper Valley Park. The construction of the athletic fi eld near Newtown Creek made the biggest jump up from last year’s priority list, moving from 25th to ninth. There was one new item on the priority list, which was to provide a toilet facility in the area of Juniper Valley Park bordered by 80th Street, Dry Harbor Road, Juniper Boulevard North and South, which fi nished as the 35th priority out of the 36 projects. The board’s top expense budget priorities requested more funding for the following: Assigning more personnel to the 104th Precinct patrol force; Providing fi eld workers to deal with water and sewer operations; Hiring plan examiners and inspectors for the Department of Buildings; Providing Sanitation Department personnel to deal with illegal dumping and litter basket collection; and Providing funding for educational and recreational programs for children and teens. “This is some of the most important work, in my opinion, that the community board does during the year,” said Gary Giordano, district manager of CB 5. “It helps infl uence the city budget.” The board voted unanimously to accept the expense budget priorities as well.
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