The New Year, 2008, was greeted with yet another car crash on Juniper Boulevard North in Middle Village.

A car driven by an unlicensed driver crashed into a car parked on the north side of Juniper Boulevard North at 77th Street on January 5th. Thankfully, there were no injuries to either the driver or passenger in this crash, but it was so forceful that it knocked the parked car clear across the street to the south side! Luckily no pedestrians were on the sidewalk right next to Juniper Valley Park at the time of impact.

On November 13, 2007, there was a deadly crash on Juniper Blvd. North in Middle Village when an Access-A-Ride driver crashed her car into a tree in Juniper Valley Park at 77th Street in Middle Village, killing one of the passengers.

As everyone knows, Juniper Boulevard North in Middle Village runs adjacent to Juniper Valley Park and it is a quarter mile speedway from Lutheran Avenue, where there is a nursery school, to 80th Street, which is a crossing for the kids attending PS49 on Juniper Boulevard South.

While many of the streets in Middle Village near Juniper Valley Park have had red lights installed and speed bumps put in, Juniper Boulevard North remains the sole street with absolutely no calming devices, full stops, speed bumps, pedestrian crossways, etc. to slow down the many cars and trucks that have adopted the road because it has no traffic enforcement.

We are told continuously by Alan Borock, DOT Director of Office of Signals Street Lighting and Systems Engineering that there are no warrants or need for traffic signals despite the fact that, as stated, there are no accommodations for pedestrians to cross the speedway for the quarter mile stretch.

Also Mr. Borock has stated that because a traffic study was done at the site within the last eighteen months, DOT does not do additional studies until the end of eighteen months! Sounds like bureaucratic mumbo jumbo to us. How many accidents are “required” to warrant a full stop?

It is suspicious to us that any traffic studies done at the site continuously state that no signaling is warranted. Why? What is the criterion for a speed bump, full stop, etc. when they have been installed all over the neighborhood, many on less traveled streets?

Captain Keith Green, Commanding Officer of the 104th Pct. is also well aware of the speeding on Juniper Blvd. North. The problem was brought to his attention at the COP 104 meeting in Our Lady of Hope on January 16th. Captain Green stated that his command has issued tickets and removed unlicensed motorcycles from the roadway. Nearby residents have continuously stated that they see no enforcement by the police that could result in any tangible improvements to the safety of the roadway.

It is unrealistic for us to rely on the police to be at the site 24/7 issuing tickets. Juniper Boulevard North needs enforcement devices installed such as four-way stop signs and speed bumps to calm the speeding cars and motorcycles before this becomes Middle Village’s own “boulevard of death”.