local traffic changes that i'd make

Back in September, I wrote about an intersection near me where the signs are contradictory. That post was here. Since I wrote that post, I forwarded the link to the President of the Jamaica Estates Association and he forwarded it to Community Board 8. I know they got it because I saw some of the emails. Sadly, the problem hasn't been fixed. Yet.

EDIT: Today, I drove by that spot. It has been fixed. I don;t know when. When I wrote the above paragraph as a draft, it hadn't been fixed. But I didn't check in the interim, before posting it. It is likely that the signage had been fixed by the time I posted it. My apologies for getting it wrong. I was sloppy.

Despite the fact that this blog doesn't have a stellar record of effecting changes in traffic control devices, I'll mention two changes I'd like to see. Both refer to the map above.

The first thing I'd like is to have Avon Road, between Chevy Chase Street and 188the Street turned into one-way, heading Northeast. This is needed because of the traffic light  (marked with a red diamond) on 188th Street, just south of Avon Road. A lot of cars heading south on 188th Street and then turn right onto the Grand Central Parkway Service Road. But a lot of drivers cut through the residential neighborhood to avoid the red light. For illustrative purposes I've marked this route on the map in purple. Of course, once they've cut through to avoid the light, they typically drive inappropriately fast through the residential streets -- gotta make sure they don;t cost themselves time with their cut-through, afterall. It's a dangerous situation. Making Avon Road one way (heading Northeast) between Chevy Chase Street and 188th Street would improve safety. An additional issue is that the street is too narrow to be two ways with parking on both sides. When we moved in, there were generally only a few cars parked on the street, and the narrowness wasn't an issue. Now, though, there's a lot more parking on the block, and it can be an issue when cars going in opposite directions pass each other.

The second thing relates to the traffic lights on 188th Street just south of the Parkway -- I've marked that stretch in red. There is one set of lights for the entire intersection where the Eastbound service road splits into 85th Road and McLaughlin Avenue. That wouldn't be such a big deal except for the traffic going South on 188th Street and turning left onto 85th Road (at the North end of the intersection) for the Parkway entrance ramp. During busy times, it can be very difficult to make that left turn because of the Northbound traffic on 188th Street. The intersection is so wide that when a Northbound car enters the intersection as the light turns red (or after it turns red, as often happens), the Southbound cars don't get a chance to safely make that left turn after the last Northbound car. I've seen times where the light goes through several cycles without anyone being able to make that left turn. The solution would be to add a part of the cycle where the Southbound traffic has a green left turn light while the Northbound traffic has a red light.

I'm sure I can think of other changes that I'd make if I ruled the world. But I guess I'm sounding like one of those old men who think they have the answer to everything.