People looking to get from North Corona to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Citi Field, and the Flushing Bay Promenade have to navigate the confusing intersection of 34th Avenue and 114th Street, find a small, poorly-maintained path, and cross a high-speed ramp from the Grand Central Parkway without even a crosswalk. Now construction has started on a DOT project to provide more space and clearer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
The plan [PDF], presented to Community Board 3 in June, widens the intersection's concrete median to shorten crossing distances, adds markings directing cyclists through the intersection, stripes crosswalks, and adds stop signs, curb ramps, and pedestrian crossing signals.
Earlier this week, Clarence stopped by the area. Construction crews have already cordoned off the median and have begun removing asphalt to expand the concrete refuge. "Until the [Flushing Bay] Promenade existed, in the late 1990s sometimes the TA Century used this crossing," Clarence writes. "I remember how we used to 'gulp' when standing there watching cars fly by at 40-plus mph with no crosswalk!"
