QUEENS — The city is making traffic changes to a stretch of Northern Boulevard in Astoria and Woodside where nearly two dozen people were seriously hurt in traffic incidents over the last several years.
The project will tackle a portion of the roadway between Honeywell Street and Broadway, building more than a dozen pedestrian islands, installing crosswalks and banning left turns at some intersections, according to the Department of Transportation.
Northern Boulevard — once ranked by a transportation group as one of the most dangerous streets in Queens — is a "priority corridor" under Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero plan.
One person was killed and another 21 pedestrians, cyclists or motorists were severely injured on the 1.3-mile stretch of the road alone between 2010 and 2014, according to the DOT.
Under the proposal, the city will build pedestrian safety islands at 14 intersections, located in the center of the street between the east and westbound traffic lanes.
It will add marked crosswalks on Northern Boulevard at Broadway, 35th, 48th and 49th streets, as well as at the intersection of Broadway and Newtown Road, according to the plans.
Curbs will be extended and pedestrian triangles will be enlarged in several spots in order to decrease the distance that people need to cross. Left turns will be eliminated at 39th Avenue, 37th Street and 36th Avenue.
A full outline of the changes can found here.
Community Board 1 approved the plans earlier this week, and the DOT expects to start construction in July, with the work to be done in phases over the next two years, a spokesman said.
