Queens residents want city to address school traffic chaos in East Flushing
NEW YORK - Julio Mora has lived on the same corner in East Flushing for nearly three decades.
"My neighborhood is a quiet neighborhood. There are a lot of old people that live here," he said. "I like living here."
That is, with one exception — twice a day, he says, peace gives way to traffic chaos at the corner of 167th Street and 45th Avenue beside P.S. 107.
"We see bottlenecks. We see standstills. We see collisions," he said.
Locals say the worst of it comes at school drop-off and pick-up with an influx of cars, trucks and buses struggling to squeeze down a narrow two-way street.
"My friend was one that got hit over here. My other neighbor, his car got totaled," he said.
Neighbor Bob Habig says it happened to him.
"It ended up costing the insurance company $4,000," he said. "I got the car back about a month later."
A "No Standing" sign has been a point of focus. Neighbors say it's in the wrong spot to facilitate the left turn school buses make there daily.
"There is a sign over there on the opposite side, not where it's supposed to be," Mora said.
When CBS New York reached out for comment, the DOT did not address specific questions and indicated the issue is not the department's responsibility.
"There's quite a traffic ballet going on at this location," urban planner and land use expert Paul Graziano said.
Sandwiched between one-way streets, he says, the corner is difficult to avoid.
He suggests the city join community leaders in a discussion to find solutions.
"I'm sure someone will get killed one day. Hopefully not, but it can happen," Mora said. "We are all desperate to get this straightened out."
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