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C.O.M.E.T. Civic Association

Comments from Residents at Maspeth Bypass Follow-up meeting on 3/30/11

Street Community Proposal/Concerns Comments

Flushing There is no signage coming from Brooklyn to direct truckers on Flushing We believe most of the truck traffic is coming from
Avenue Avenue to turn on 54th Street to Grand Avenue to Rust Street. Brooklyn.
Flushing The truck sign at 64th Street that was installed is not very visible. Needs
Avenue to be bigger to get the truckers’ attention.
Maurice Maurice Avenue/56th Drive needs “No Thru Truck” sign. Truckers use it There is a lot of property damage from trucks coming
Avenue as a shortcut. from 56th Drive e/b and turning onto 64th Street. Cars
are hit, someone’s house was hit, wires are knocked
down, etc.
Maurice Can large trucks make the turn from Maurice Avenue onto 55 th Drive?
Avenue Folks think it is too narrow.
LIE @ 69th Signage is needed on LIE at 69th Street to direct trucks to Maurice
Avenue
LIE Exit at Trucks making a left onto Maurice will then turn onto 55 th Drive. From
Maurice 55th Drive they will turn onto 60th Street and go to Maspeth Avenue as a
shortcut – which is what we don’t want.
LIE Exit at Heading eastbound and making a right turn at Maurice Avenue signage
Maurice is needed to direct truckers.
Maspeth Everyone agrees Maspeth Avenue needs to be one-way westbound This will help relieve truck traffic on nearby residential
Avenue with a “do not enter” sign at Maurice Avenue. streets.
Rust Street Eliminate Rust Street from bypass. Instead direct trucks to use Page
Place.
57th Place Need stop sign on N/B 57th Place at 57th Road Dangerous pedestrian crossing at 57th Road (between
residential area and diner)
56th Drive Between Maurice and 61st Street it is presently one-way east. The Too many trucks use this narrow street. DOT’s proposal
residents believe it should be one-way west. Truckers take 58 th Street to will make it worse.
56th Drive and end up on 64th Street. See below.
64th Street Trucks/cars back up on 64th Street between LIE/sr and Grand Avenue Need better signal timing and “No horn honking” sign at
especially during evening rush hour because of poor signal timing. 64th/56th Dr. Motorists honk even when the light is red.
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Trucks coming from 56th Drive can’t make turn and traffic backs up.
64th Street There is no traffic signal or crosswalk for pedestrians on the west side of If you get off the Q58/Q59 bus heading westbound, and
64th Street coming from Flushing Avenue and walking north to cross want to walk northbound across Grand Avenue it’s very
Grand Avenue to Maspeth Avenue. dangerous.
57th Place DOT’s proposal does not allow customers to pull into the Clinton Diner
parking lot. Keep 57th Place two-way and allow turn or give access from
58th Street.
58th Street 58th Street northbound have motorists turn left on Maspeth Ave instead
of right.
58th Street 58th Street at 57th Drive needs a “stop” sign. Residents state this intersection is dangerous.

NOTE: Illegal truck traffic/vehicular traffic is at its worst during the morning hours 6:00 am to 8:00 am. Evening traffic congests the area from
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Other Traffic Concerns

69th Street @ Grand Avenue
69th Street @ 58th Avenue n/b
59th Drive/60th Street
Need turning signal similar to the one on 69 th
Street/Eliot Avenue
Remove “Turn right on red” sign
Trucks coming from Rust Street use 59 th Drive
to 60th Street. When they try to turn onto
Metropolitan Avenue they get stuck.
Huge traffic volume makes it dangerous for
pedestrians to cross the street.
Causes dangerous crossing for pedestrians
and cars honk when driver doesn’t turn
Motorists drive on sidewalk at 60th Street/59th
Drive. Problem most visible between 6:00 am
to 8:00 am.

There is a problem with business/factory owners stealing signs in order to allow trucks to use streets as truck routes. Who checks to see if signs
are where they are supposed to be and how often do they do that?

There has been no enforcement of the local routes on Grand Ave and Flushing Avenue since they went into effect 3/25. (The police said they
didn’t see that the signs were up.) Why did this happen when we were assured the NYPD and DOT would be communicating and working
together to remove the trucks from these roads?