Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Eyes on the Street

Eyes on the Street: Queens Crossing Guards Improvise Street Safety Fixes

asdf
Kids and parents should be able to walk to school without speeding drivers jeopardizing their lives. Photo: Clarence Eckerson

While Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is out to tear up pedestrian refuges on a dangerous stretch of Fort Hamilton Parkway, over in Queens, local street safety experts are improvising their own traffic-calming measures. Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson took these pictures of crossing guards using cones as makeshift safety improvements outside two Jackson Heights schools.

The cones alert drivers and force them to take turns slower, functioning much like a neckdown or bulb-out at the street corner. The crossing guards break out the cones after school get dismissed, a tactic Clarence says he never saw until moving to Queens. He reports that the guards have their traffic-calming technique down to a science:

I've talked to two of the crossing guards. One told me, "We are not technically allowed to do it, but we do anyway because it really helps protect the kids and slow down the cars when they come down the street."

I asked how she knows where to put it, and she said, "I've been doing this long enough to know how cars cut that corner really fast, without looking for kids. I look to see if there are any tire skid marks on the road or gravel and I always put the cone down outside any of those."

Living on this block, it is amazing to see the difference this cone makes on turning speeds when it is out there for half an hour.

More pictures after the jump.

adsf
adsf
sadf
sadf

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Preventable’: Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Two on Third. Ave Corridor Eric Adams Refuses to Make Safer

A motorist struck and killed two men on a strip where Mayor Adams recently shelved a safety redesign amid a backlash from local business interests.

July 11, 2025

Why No BRT For NYC? Two New Reports Tackle Why Your Bus Service Sucks

Years of bus priority projects barely made a dent in speeds because Big Apple leaders won't install real bus rapid transit, two recent reports argue.

July 11, 2025

Citi Bike Riders Are Pissed About Eric Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit

Citi Bike's new 15 mph max speed limit is a bad deal for riders and a potential threat to safety, riders said.

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: Cyclists, Check Out Your Next City

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson visited London earlier this summer to check in on the Big Smoke's cycling revolution.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Just the News Edition

We've got one more workday before we can hit the beach. Plus the news.

July 11, 2025

Council To Close Instacart Loophole, Pass Delivery Industry Regulation Bills

The City Council will vote on Monday to close the "Instacart loophole" and force all app companies to pay workers a minimum wage.

July 10, 2025
See all posts