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Fixes Leave Queens Boulevard Intersection More Confusing, Residents Say

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | December 16, 2014 2:51pm
 The DOT has installed several safety improvements at the intersection of Queens and Yellowstone boulevards.
Yellowstone Boulevard Safety Improvements
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QUEENS — The Forest Hills community board wants the city to add more safety measures to a dangerous Queens Boulevard intersection after residents complained that recently implemented fixes are confusing.

Last month, the Department of Transportation put in place a slew of new safety measures at the busy junction of Queens and Yellowstone boulevards where 85 people were injured, including 15 pedestrians and four bicyclists, from 2007 to 2011, according to statistics provided by the agency.

In 2012, a pedestrian was killed there, the DOT said.

One of the changes — a ban on northbound traffic making left turns onto Queens Boulevard from Yellowstone Boulevard — has confused motorists and caused chaos around the intersection, residents and board members said.

As a result, drivers who are now forced to continue driving along Yellowstone Boulevard look for the nearest route leading back to Queens Boulevard and turn onto 69th Road, increasing traffic in the area, residents said.

The CB6 Transportation Committee is suggesting installing more signs around the intersection, informing drivers that they can go back to the Queens Boulevard service road by turning left on 69th Road.

Signs should also inform drivers who wish to access Queens Boulevard’s main road that they can do so by taking 67th Road, committee member John Dereszewski said.

The board also suggested adding a left turn signal at the intersection of Yellowstone Blvd. and 69th Road and a dedicated left lane on Yellowstone Blvd, specifically for drivers making those turns.

Another recommendation urged the DOT to install traffic lights at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 69th Road to "prevent potential safety hazards" and improve the traffic flow there, Dereszewski said.

Bonny Tsang, a spokeswoman for the DOT, said in an email, that the agency will review the feedback from CB6 once the DOT receives the letter.

“As it does with recently implemented safety enhancements, DOT continues to monitor this location,” she added.