By Lisa autz
Long Island City’s intersection at 30th Street and Thomson Avenue just became a safer commute for pedestrians and motorists.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), along with Gail Mellow, president of LaGuardia Community College; Dalila Hall, Queens commissioner of the city Department of Transportation; Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives; and students and faculty from the area colleges and schools came together July 29to announce the traffic safety improvements made along Thomson Avenue.
In March, Tenzin Drudak, a 16-year-old Woodside student attending Applied Communications High School, was killed by a speeding van while crossing the intersection.
Since the fatal accident, Van Bramer, Community Board 2 and LaGuardia Community College have requested that DOT re-evaluate the area to ensure greater safety for the large number of students who walk there every day.
The intersection lies between Queens Boulevard and the entrance onto the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge and was known as a hazardous crosswalk in front of LaGuardia Community College.
“The safety measures implemented on 30th Street between Skillman Avenue and Thomson Avenue are first steps towards addressing safety concerns around the vicinity of LaGuardia Community College,” said Mellow.
The project included short-term upgrades in the area as well as pedestrian safety expansions. In April, installments were made such as signal retimings, pedestrian countdown signals at Thomson and Skillman avenues, 30th and 31st streets and 30th and 31st places and additional signs and new markings at Thomson Avenue and Van Dam Street.
The pedestrian walkway was expanded by closing a slip ramp between 30th Street and Thomson Avenue, which was a hot spot where vehicles picked up speed, and implementing a left-turn ban from Thomson to Skillman avenues.
Granite blocks, plastic bollards and six planters now line the walkway creating 550 square feet of pedestrian space. Additional signs and plastic bollards are placed to discourage illegal “Z” turns from Skillman to 30th Street.
“By working with the DOT, we were able to install concrete safety improvements, which are already taking effect and being implemented here on Thomson Avenue in Long Island City,” said Van Bramer. “No New Yorker should feel their life is in jeopardy when they are walking along the sidewalks of our city streets.”
The community will continue to evaluate the congested traffic zone to further improve its safety.
“The college looks forward to continue working closely with the NYC Department of Transportation, local community leaders and our traffic consultants in finding the best safety measures for our campus community,” Mellow said.
