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| City Announces Continued Progress on Task Force Recommendations
DOT Makes Progress at Two High Priority Intersections, Completes Hylan Boulevard Left Turn Prohibitions and continued daylighting improvements
Release # 06-67
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Staten Island Transportation Task Force co-chairs Transportation (NYCDOT) Commissioner Iris Weinshall and City Planning (DCP) Director Amanda Burden, today announced further safety and congestion reducing improvements around Staten Island and highlighted continued progress towards completing the Task Force's short term recommendations. In September the Task Force announced it had completed 6 congestion reducing initiatives in less than 6 months, including comprehensive enhancements to 6 high priority intersections, capacity and visibility improvements (daylighting) at 72 intersections and more than 12 new safety initiatives. Since September, the Task Force has completed additional work at 2 of the high priority intersections, installed left turn prohibitions at more than 30 intersections along Hylan Boulevard, daylighted 12 additional intersections, worked with the Police Department on improved enforcement around schools and installed Staten Island's first countdown pedestrian signal. Clove Road and West Fingerboard Road
The intersection of Clove Road and West Fingerboard is one of the most challenging intersections the Task Force has examined and since September, DOT has widened the southeast corner of Clove Road and West Fingerboard, significantly realigning the intersection and improving safety and traffic flow. To improve pedestrian safety DOT has installed new curbs, sidewalks and a pedestrian ramp. DOT also installed new roadway markings and made adjustments to the signal timing to reduce congestion caused by motorists making a left from Clove Road onto West Fingerboard Road. DOT also plans to install sidewalk ramps at the remaining three corners of the intersection. In the medium/long term DOT plans to further widen both Clove and West Fingerboard Roads and install two raised medians and slip ramps to provide additional pedestrian space, improve traffic flow and prevent backups caused by turning vehicles.
Draper Place and Richmond Avenue
In June, DOT announced a series of improvements at the intersection of Draper Place and Richmond Avenue, including extended green time at the left turn signal on Richmond Avenue onto Draper Place and improved signage to prevent cars from turning left out of the Barnes and Noble parking lot on the south side of Richmond Avenue. Since September, new markings have been installed on Draper Place to guide traffic traveling straight through the intersection towards Barnes and Noble and traffic turning left on Richmond Avenue. DOT also plans to extend the left turn bay on Richmond Avenue by 200-feet to maximize the effectiveness of the extended left turn signal on Richmond Avenue and to prevent long lines of cars from blocking the travel lane. New markings will also be installed to create an acceleration lane for vehicles turning right onto Richmond Avenue from the Draper Place slip ramp.
In a related project, Travis Avenue from Richmond Avenue to Draper Place has been converted to a one way and new parking spaces and crosswalks have been installed to narrow the roadway, creating additional parking for area businesses and enhancing safety for pedestrians. Hylan Left Turn Prohibitions
Since work began in August, DOT has implemented left turn prohibitions at 33 intersections along Hylan Boulevard. At 12 of the intersections DOT has closed gaps in the median with permanent asphalt barriers. At the remaining 21 intersections DOT has installed guide rails and, or signs indicating that left turns are prohibited. DOT has also added dedicated left turn signals at 12 intersections and installed striped left turn bays at where Hylan Boulevard intersects Dongan Hills and Cleveland Avenues. DOT also has long term plans to construct permanent left turn bays along Hylan Boulevard from Groton Street to Heinz Avenue, Tarlee Place to Whitman Avenue, Waterside Parkway to Fairlawn Avenue, Hopkins Avenue to Montreal Avenue and from Rose Avenue to Bache Avenue.
84 Intersections Daylighted
To increase intersection capacity and turning radius and provide motorists and pedestrians with better visibility, NYCDOT has installed parking prohibitions (daylighting) at 84 intersections on Staten Island. Since the September meeting, the following 12 intersections have been daylighted:
Zero Tolerance
Since September, officials from the NYPD and DOT have targeted more than12 public and private schools around Staten Island in an effort to prevent illegal parking and moving violations around schools during the pick-up and drop-off hours.
Countdown Pedestrian Signal
Earlier this month, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Commissioner Weinshall announced a six month pilot program to study the impacts on motorist and pedestrian behavior at sites where pedestrian signals display the number of seconds pedestrians have to cross the street before the opposing vehicle traffic is given the right of way. The pedestrian countdown signals are the same size as the existing pedestrian signal head, but feature a dual display (the traditional "Walking Man" and "Hand" display, and a pedestrian interval countdown display.) The countdown feature is programmed to start at the beginning of the "flashing hand" cycle and end when the flashing hand becomes steady. At five test intersections around the City pedestrians will be given a minimum 15-second countdown before the light changes. In Staten Island the new signals are being tested at the intersection of Hylan Boulevard & New Dorp Lane.
The next meeting of the Staten Island Transportation Task Force is schedule for January 23, 2007 at the Community Board 2 Offices at Seaview Hospital and Home. Contact: Kay Sarlin (212) 442-7033 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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