DOT Goofs Again

Queens, NY – Today, Senator Avella visited the intersection of 14^th Road and Utopia Parkway to look at the work the Department of Transportation (DOT) did to alleviate confusion at the Utopia Parkway exit of the Cross Island Parkway Service Road. Instead, Senator Avella found that the “work” that DOT did actually made the problem worse and rather than clearing up any confusion, it caused more confusion.

After years of Senator Avella asking DOT to widen the Cross Island Parkway Service Road exit to Utopia Parkway, DOT instead painted a double arrow on the roadway, which makes it appear as if the one lane exit is actually two lanes. This action by DOT has only served to make the already dangerous service road even more dangerous. While at the intersection, Senator Avella renewed his call for DOT to either widen the roadway or install a safety island strip to clearly indicate to motorists that the exit is a single lane.

“This failed attempt by DOT to remedy the confusion has only served to confuse motorists even more. Here you have a situation where a road just wide enough to accommodate one car is constantly having a second car squeeze in the lane. I was only standing here for a few minutes and saw way too many motorists forming their own second lane and saw conditions that, on a hot day like today, can spark a road rage incident. DOT needs to come out here and address this situation before a major accident, or worse, occurs on this service road,” said Senator Avella.