Dear Editor,
Apparently some Rockaway Times readers are upset with me for warning drivers about the new speed cameras on Beach Channel Drive and Rockaway Beach Blvd. give me a break! To set the record straight, the NYPD is not issuing these tickets, the Department of Transportation is Secondly, nobody is condoning careless driving that puts kids at risk. Lastly, “he looks like an ignorant and uneducated person,” ouch!
My motivation for the speed camera warning signs was to provide otherwise law abiding citizens with a heads-up that the City’s rules, or at least the enforcement of those rules, had changed. If the DOT were really concerned with slowing people down around schools, they would have erected their own signs, believe me, they work. Besides, I would have rather been at the beach.
Anyone who thinks that this ticket blitz is about safeguarding our children rather than the City raising a quick buck is deluding themselves.
There is an amazing lack of any sort of notice, not just about the speed cameras, but there are no signs to indicate that you are entering a school zone. Additionally, DOT has also chosen not to erect any speed limit signs of any kind anywhere nearby. The schools merely serve as political cover for the City’s money grab, and unfortunately a lot of people fall for it.
I’m not sure if this lack of signage affects the legitimacy of the thousands of tickets already issued, but since the speed cameras can only be used in school zones, shouldn’t drivers be made aware of where the school zone starts and where it ends? Hopefully there’s an attorney somewhere looking into this question.
To complete the BCD gauntlet there are two traffic lights at B 104th St. and B101st, their mindless timers stopping thousands of cars day and night even though school is in session only a fraction of the time. For example summer school schedules are 9 AM to 1 PM, Monday through Wednesday. That’s 12 hours out of 168 hours a week or just 7 percent of the time.
(A recent study revealed that we are wasting over 130,000 hours annually at these two intersections alone) There’s got to be a better way!
I’m as concerned as much as the next guy about safety, but I also know that if you are going to have a viable city, people need to be able to get from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time. We have a right to expect, no, demand more from our City and particularly from the Department of Transportation. We need to use available technology to help us get where we are going faster and safer. Instead of lowering the speed limit to a ridiculous 25 MPH citywide as de Blasio is about to push through, let’s show some real vision and install smart traffic lights that remain green until a car or pedestrian needs to enter the intersection from the side street.
Let’s hold the DOT accountable for constructing roads that last, reducing travel times and keeping our kids safe. These are not mutually exclusive goals and can be done with more vision and less shaking down of motorists that seems to be the current administrations MO.
Rick Horan
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