FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com february 12, 2015 • THE COURIER SUN 3 City installing new traffic lights along Cross Bay and Woodhaven boulevards BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 Motorists driving along Cross Bay and Woodhaven boulevards will be seeing more red, yellow and green. As part of Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” traffic safety initiative, the city is in the process of installing new and larger traffic lights along the busy thoroughfares in hopes of giving motorists a better view of the of the red, yellow and green lights. Currently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is replacing the 8-inch circular signals with 12-inch circular signals going northbound and southbound on the two boulevards in Queens. These are the first to be installed in the borough. Work will be done for the entire length of the corridor and is expected to be completed within four to six weeks, weather permitting, according to a DOT spokeswomen. On many of the new lights being installed, there is a bit of a gap between the red top light and bottom yellow and green lights. Due to the new size of the lights, in select locations the signal must be raised to ensure that it is the correct height above the roadway. About two of the new 12-inch lights equal the length of the full three light piece that holds the old 8-inch ones. In the last couple of months, the city has initiated a number of safety improvements on Cross Bay and Woodhaven boulevards. In December, the DOT installed temporary pedestrian safety areas, set off by yellow cones, in order to widen the mediums on which people crossing the street could stand to create a bigger barrier between pedestrians and traffic. The city is also in the process of creating permanent safety areas, where they will actually build THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata out the sidewalk, in more traveled intersections such as where Queens Boulevard meets Woodhaven Boulevard. There is also a proposal for Select Bus and Bus Rapid Transit to come to both of these corridors in the future. Fumes from chemistry lab in Richmond Hill school send 21 students to area hospitals BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 A science experiment that went wrong sent 21 students from Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy in Richmond Hill to area hospitals on the morning of Feb. 5 after fumes filled a chemistry lab, officials said. The students at the pre-K to 8 school were sent for medical treatment at area hospitals as a precaution and any injuries were reported as minor, according to the FDNY. The emergency call came in from the school, located at 111-02 86th Ave., to the FDNY at about 9:40 a.m. Fire dispatchers immediately deployed a hazmat unit and emergency medical services to the school. According to a statement on the school’s website posted by a school official this afternoon: “During class 6-1’s science class, smoke and fumes resulted from an experiment. As a precaution, 21 students were taken to two local hospitals.” The students were released to their parents from those hospitals. The statement also said that “the teacher immediately evacuated the room and, as a precaution, all students in the old school were relocated to the gymnasium.” School officials noted that the FDNY and EMS later cleared the room and the building was declared safe. The school continued with its regular dismissal time and after-school activities THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata were not affected.
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