Queens residents call on city to improve Union Turnpike intersection

NEW YORK — A busy intersection in Queens has neighbors saying they feel unsafe, and they want the city to step in.
Residents say crashes are all too frequent at the dangerous intersection of Union Turnpike, Markwood Place and Park Lane, where Forest Hills and Kew Gardens share a border. It’s a heavily used pedestrian and cyclist crossing to Forest Park.
For Connie Hau and her son Reese, neighborhood walks require extra precaution after a close call.
“I almost got hit by a car that just jumped the curb,” she said.
“I have to run across because the cars are just rushing,” 9-year-old Garison Ling said. 
For years, neighbors say they have witnessed crash after crash, with cars swerving to bypass a turn lane they say is poorly marked. 
Lisa Christopher says that twice her parked car was hit by vehicles that sped off.
“They’re treating that one lane like two cars can fit there, and they’re going so close and so fast,” she said.
The DOT denied Oded Horodniceanu’s request for a speed camera back in 2020, claiming the area failed to meet criteria. He is now asking the city to consider a curb extension.
“Pedestrians wouldn’t have to cross as far of a distance, and then, also, vehicles would have to slow down because there’s a sidewalk there,” he said.
To make matters worse, locals say, faulty traffic lights regularly go dark, causing chaos.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation told CBS New York in part, “We are aware of community concerns in the area and have made several recent improvements, including upgrading the signal infrastructure at Union Turnpike and Markwood Place last year, as well as implementing a street improvement project at Union Turnpike and Austin Street.”
Neighbors call the upgrades a Band-Aid, especially in light of a prolonged traffic light outage in recent weeks.
“We called 311 multiple times, and they said they resolved it, but the next day, the problem just came back,” Gary Ling said.
Council Member Lynn Schulman says making the corridor safe demands a multi-pronged approach.
“There’s so many different parts of it. There’s the lights. There’s the parking,” she said. “So we’re asking the Department of Transportation to really take a close look at it.”
The DOT told CBS New York it will continue to monitor the area for improvements. While families wait for solutions, they hope no lives are lost.
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