QUEENS — A group of Forest Hills residents is pushing for traffic safety improvements — including additional stop signs, a speed bump and a flashing red light — at a corner that they say is accident prone.
Locals said drivers speed through the intersection of Selfridge and Kessel streets, often running a stop sign as they try to make the light at nearby Yellowstone Boulevard.
Currently, there are only two stop signs at the intersection, with traffic on Kessel Street stopping in the quiet, residential section of Forest Hills.
But just last Saturday afternoon, a car crash at the intersection caused by a motorist who failed to stop there and hit into another vehicle driving on Selfridge Street, sent three people to local hospitals in serious condition, police and fire officials said.
“It’s was like in the movie,” said Lyubov Roberts, 47, who lives at the intersection and witnessed the accident. She said the car that got hit “flew, turned around and ended up backward.”
Roberts said that numerous children live in the area but fortunately none of them were playing at the intersection at the time.
“Something should be done about it,” she said, adding that she witnessed several other collisions and near misses at the intersection since she moved there 5 years ago. “It’s crazy.”
Three people were injured in a car crash last Saturday at the intersection Selfridge and Kessel streets, according to the FDNY. (Photo courtesy of Carlos Pesantes)
According to statistics provided by the Department of Transportation, prior to the Saturday collision, the intersection saw three other crashes since January 2010. At least one person was injured.
Capt. Robert Ramos, commanding officer of the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills, said that compared to other areas of the precinct, which includes a portion of Queens Boulevard and the Grand Central Parkway, “it's not a collision prone location.”
But Gloria Imperante, who has lived nearby since 1977, disagrees.
“It has been chronic and disgusting,” she said about crashes in the area.
She said that for at least 6 years she and other neighbors have been reaching out to various elected officials asking them for help.
“Cars don’t stop, they want to make that green light," she said.
Imperante said that local residents want the city to install two additional stop signs on Selfridge Street. They also demand a speed bump on Selfridge Street between Kessel and Juno streets and a flashing red light on Kessel Street for drivers facing Yellowstone Boulevard.
A spokeswoman for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said that her office “issued a request to DOT in September 2014 for enhanced safety measures at that intersection.”
A spokesman for the DOT said Tuesday that the agency “is currently studying this intersection for an All-Way Stop.”
“Additionally, DOT has a speed hump study open for Selfridge Street from Kessel Street to Juno Street and we expect it to be completed this winter,” he added.
Ramos said he will also ask his officers to "complete a traffic intelligence report to request two additional stop signs at the location."
