Mayor, DOT pledge audio signal at busy Queens Boulevard intersection

Pedestrians must cross nine lanes to get from one side of Queens Boulevard to the other at Continental Avenue and 71st Avenue. Photo via Google Maps.

By David Brand

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city’s Department of Transportation commissioner pledged Wednesday to install an audio signal at the busy intersection of Queens Boulevard, Continental Avenue and 71st Avenue within a month.

Pressed by an attendee at a Forest Hills town hall meeting, de Blasio called on Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg to expedite the project, which would help people with visual impairments cross the dangerous thoroughfare once known as New York City’s “Boulevard of Death.” 

“Crossing Queens Boulevard when you don’t see, or don’t see well, or don’t walk fast is pretty much terrifying,” the attendee told de Blasio.

An audio signal was supposed to be installed by Oct. 31, 2019, but has still not been added to the intersection.

“We’re ready to solve your problem,” de Blasio said, before demanding a timeline from Trottenberg.

The project will be completed within a month, Trottenberg said.