ANNADALE — Newly sworn-in Councilman Joe Borelli announced Wednesday a push to bring traffic improvements to every neighborhood in his district, starting with a seven-point plan to fix problems in the 10312 zip code.
The improvements, Borelli said, should be easy to implement by the Department of Transportation and would end daily frustrations drivers face at some intersections in Eltingville, Annadale, Arden Heights, Huguenot and Woodrow.
"We wanted to propose some quick and easy solutions that DOT can do to make people's daily commutes within their neighborhood a little bit easier," Borelli said.
"These are really just meat and potato, simple things, that DOT can do without spending a great deal of money."
Borelli, who represents Staten Island's South Shore, said the plans coincide with larger improvements the city's making around the neighborhood — like the widening of Arthur Kill Road — and that they are another way to help drivers and pedestrians get around easier.
The plan includes fixes like repainting the road markings at Arden Avenue and Amboy Road to make it easier for drivers to make a legal right turn on red, pedestrian improvements at Arthur Kill Road and the New York 440 and removing the SBS lane on Richmond Avenue between Shirley Avenue and Hylan Boulevard.
Borelli said he came up with many of the fixes himself as he lived in the zip code for years and faces most of the frustrations on the road first hand.
"I lived in the 10312 zip code for 33 years of my life and have been stopped at every traffic light countless times, hit every pothole countless times and have cursed the heavens, like most of my constituents, at all of these little silly inconsistencies that we're tyring to deal with," Borelli said.
Borelli — who was sworn into the City Council on Tuesday after he ran unopposed to replace Vincent Ignizio — said he would meet with DOT officials and work on the fixes.
"DOT congratulates Councilman Joseph Borelli on his election and we look forward to working with him," said Tom Cocola, borough commissioner for the DOT, in a statement.
"In the past we implemented his recommendations as Assembly member and we will evaluate his newest set of proposals and continue our dialogue with him."
Borelli plans to release similar plans for the other five zip codes he represents and started with 10312 because it's the most densely populated in his district.
"We'll work on these, maybe we won't be successful in getting all of these changes, but we'll certainly try, then we'll move on to the next one," he said.
The other improvements Borelli suggested for neighborhoods in the 10312 zip code include:
► Making the traffic signal longer for northbound traffic at the Korean War Veterans Parkway near the Eltingville Transit Center to allow cars to queue between the traffic light and Arthur Kill Road instead of the highway.
► Add a right turn arrow at Drumgoole Road and Arden Avenue to help relief traffic during school pick-up and drop-off hours.
► Add right turn on red for Richmond avenue between Barlow Avenue and Wilson Street; Richmond Avenue between Oakdale and King Streets and Arden Avenue between Oakdale Street and Shirley Avenue
► Completely resurfacing Huguenot Avenue and Woodrow Road.
