By Jeremy Walsh
A narrow Glendale road will be converted to one−way traffic to slow vehicles and reduce the risk of accidents after Community Board 5 endorsed the city’s proposal last week.
CB 5 members voted unanimously in favor of making 78th Road between 80th and 83rd streets exclusively westbound. The road, 25 feet wide, is currently open to two−way traffic. Cars park along the curb on each side.
“We have made several attempts at mitigating the situation, none of which have worked,” CB 5 Chairman Vincent Arcuri said, noting the issue came up before the board three years ago.
“We had one or two people speaking against it,” CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano said. The board did not take action at the time and Giordano said he did not want to let the matter lie again.
The board received a petition from residents along the road in October, Giordano said, noting the stretch of 78th Street has seen five major right−angle accidents in recent years.
The city Department of Transportation responded quickly, conducting a study that supported residents’ requests, adding recommendations to eliminate two parking spaces at the intersections of 80th and 82nd streets to provide drivers turning onto 78th Road with better visibility.
But not everyone in the neighborhood favored the city’s plan. Donald Desmond, who lives on 82nd Street, called the one−way plan “a red herring.”
“If anything, having traffic oppose one another slows them down,” he said. Desmond also criticized the plan to remove parking spaces.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e−mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 154.
