WILLIAMSBURG — Kent Avenue's cars may finally be hitting the brakes.
Traffic signals are coming to the busy avenue's intersections at North Fifth, North Sixth and North Seventh streets in Williamsburg this spring, officials announced Tuesday.
The Department of Transportation said the new signals would arrive in May.
"Despite becoming increasingly residential in recent years, Kent lacked traffic signals at many key intersections — leaving more and more residents at risk," said State Senator Daniel Squadron in a statement.
"That's why it's so important to make these safety improvements alongside development, rather than waiting until it's done."
When hearing news of the traffic signals after walking across Kent Avenue Tuesday afternoon, Iris Rodriguez, 56, breathed a sigh of relief.
"The traffic goes too fast," said the local resident, who walks with a cane and said she gets nervous when traveling to a pharmacy on Kent Avenue for her prescription.
Erwin Herrera, who does maintenance work at several buildings at the North Sixth Street intersection, said he sees pedestrians having trouble at the corner every day.
He repeatedly glanced in both directions while hauling a heavy cart of furniture across the street on Tuesday.
"They've needed to put signals here for a while," he said in Spanish.
