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JFK Airport bus crash highlights need for safer street design, Queens leaders say

By

David Brand

Published May 19, 2023

Modified May 19, 2023

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A stock photo of traffic headed to JFK.

 

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By

David Brand

Published May 19, 2023

Modified May 19, 2023

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A collision between a Delta airlines bus and commuter van on the Van Wyck Expressway early Friday left 15 injured and highlights the need for safer streets in and around JFK Airport and southeast Queens, local leaders say.

The 15 passengers on board the vehicles that smashed into each other were transported to nearby hospitals with mostly minor injuries, according to the FDNY. The Port Authority said one injury appeared to be severe.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said he has urged the Port Authority to take street safety into account as part of the JFK Airport overhaul. Richards said he has pushed for clearer signs and warnings against speeding.

“I know the airport can be confusing,” he said. “We are in the redevelopment stages now and we’re having conversations with Port Authority about how do we redesign it to make it safer.”

Richards said the roadways on the airport grounds are part of a larger problem with unsafe streets in surrounding Springfield Gardens. On Wednesday, a speeding 16-year-old driver smashed into a parked UPS truck on Conduit Avenue, killing 14-year-old Fortune Williams.

He said collisions on the busy roadway have earned it a grim designation formerly reserved for Queens Boulevard.

“Conduit is like the new ‘Boulevard of Death’ and there needs to be more done there,” he said.

NYC Crash Mapper, a data tool that plots the location of vehicle crashes, injuries and deaths, counts about two dozen collisions along Conduit Avenue or its intersecting streets over the first four months of the year.

Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson, a Democrat who represents the area around JFK, called Conduit a “sub-highway” because many drivers barrel down the street, endangering pedestrians and other motorists.

Anderson said it’s just one of many scary roadways in southeast Queens, especially leading to the airport.

“Driving on the North Conduit, South Conduit can be nerve-wracking,” he said, adding that the interchange from the Van Wyck Expressway to the Belt Parkway can be genuinely scary.

“That I can say I’m scared of,” he said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Tagged

street safety

JFK International Airport

transportation

David Brand

David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.

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