By Bill Parry
Jackson Heights is getting its second slow zone in the last year and a half. Drivers in the business and residential areas on both sides of Northern Boulevard will now be forced to take it slower.
“My message to drivers is slow down,” City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said when the Department of Transportation and area leaders announced its implementation Monday. “Don’t come to Jackson Heights thinking you’re going to speed through this community and get away with it.”
The entire area between 69th Street to 87th Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 34th Avenue will have a 20 mph speed limit, 26 new speed bumps and 23 neighborhood slow zone gateways, high visibility blue signs announcing the lower speed limit. The Department of Transportation chose the area after an evaluation on crash history, traffic fatalities, community support and the closeness of schools, day care and senior centers.
According to the DOT, there have been 14 pedestrians severely injured, 14 vehicle occupants injured and three fatalities in the zone since 2007.
“Unfortunately during the last few years these streets have seen traffic fatalities,” Dromm said. “The reduced speed and speed bumps will make an impact and get drivers to finally slow down. Additionally, the frequent signs along the periphery of the zone act as an educational tool to alert pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers that this is an area where people need to be cautious.”
Although he had worked to get these zones implemented for 2 1/2 years, DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Dalila Hall said Dromm was the first to apply for slow zones. The councilman credited Community Board 3 for the zones in addition to other projects like curb extensions and pedestrian plazas.
“We have the largest population of students and they gave to cross these streets,” CB 3 District Manager Giovanna Reid said. “Slowing traffic down to 20 mph will definitely make a difference and it will save lives.”
Dr. Laura Newman, co-founder of the Jackson Heights street safety advocacy group Make Queens Safer, said, “Parents are brimming with excitement about the slow zone and our neighborhood kids our fascinated. These are the types of safety features that are easily understood by children.”
State Assemblyman Michael Den Dekker (D-East Elmhurst) pointed out that not a single parking spot has been lost.
“We are particularly grateful to Commissioner Hall for instituting this slow zone without making any changes to the current parking allocation,” he said.
There was an added benefit for Dromm, who lives in the zone on 78th Street: some peace and quiet.
“Oftentimes these drivers would barrel down that street so fast that the windows in my apartment would shake,” he said.
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