Eyes on the Street: Pedestrian Islands on College Point Boulevard in Flushing

Photos: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence took these shots of new pedestrian islands going in on College Point Boulevard in Flushing. “I counted seven or eight between between 33rd and Maple Avenues,” he says.

College Point Boulevard, says Clarence, is “always dangerous to cross.” Two pedestrians have been killed and dozens of pedestrians and cyclists injured by motorists on this segment of the street since the mid 1990s, according to Transportation Alternatives’ CrashStat.

The 109th Precinct, which covers a large swath of Queens to the east and north of Flushing, issued 539 speeding tickets as of August — a significant increase over 2012, when precinct officers cited 262 drivers for speeding all year, but still less than two summonses per day.

Another pic from Clarence after the jump, plus an aerial view of College Point Boulevard before these improvements.

Image: Google Maps

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Car Dealers Turn Northern Boulevard’s Sidewalks Into Vehicle Showrooms

|
As a matter of practice, car dealerships along Northern Boulevard, one of the most dangerous streets in Queens, illegally use its sidewalks and curb lanes as a showroom for vehicles. NYPD doesn’t enforce against the appropriation of sidewalks and won’t answer questions about it. Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson recently walked down Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights and found cars […]

Eyes on the Street: Safer Crossings From Corona to Citi Field

|
People looking to get from North Corona to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Citi Field, and the Flushing Bay Promenade have to navigate the confusing intersection of 34th Avenue and 114th Street, find a small, poorly-maintained path, and cross a high-speed ramp from the Grand Central Parkway without even a crosswalk. Now construction has started on […]

Eyes on the Street: Safer Streets Come to Jackson Heights

|
In June, Queens Community Board 3 overwhelmingly supported two traffic safety projects: a neighborhood Slow Zone for part of Jackson Heights and new pedestrian islands on Northern Boulevard. Now those improvements plus multiple Safe Routes to School projects are being installed. Clarence Eckerson Jr. snapped some photos earlier this week as DOT crews poured concrete […]

Wider Sidewalks Coming to Flushing’s Crowded Main Street

|
Main Street in Flushing gets more foot traffic than anywhere else in New York after Times Square, but its sidewalks are too narrow to handle all those people. So later this month, the city will begin expanding the sidewalks on four blocks of Main Street, Council Member Peter Koo, DOT, and the Department of Design and […]