Astoria's 14th Street Turns Two-Way

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Astoria's 14th Street is heading in a new direction: The city on Tuesday officially converted it from a one-way street to a two-way street in an effort to combat speeding.

The change applies to 14th Street between Broadway and 30th Avenue and is marked by a new double-yellow line down the middle of the road and new stop signs at 31st Avenue and 30th Avenue, according to the NYC Department of Transportation.

A DOT spokesperson said the change came in response to safety concerns voiced by City Council Member Costa Constantinides, Queens Community Board 1 and members of the Long Island City High School community.

Neighbors have also complained about drivers speeding and drag racing along 14th Street and other nearby roadways.

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There have been at least four serious crashes on 14th Street this year, three of which happened at the corner of 31st Avenue, according to city data through May 30.

"We determined that 14th Street was an excessively wide one-way street, encouraging high speeds that endangered pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists," a DOT spokesperson told Patch in an emailed statement.

Old Astoria Neighborhood Association President Richard Khuzami, who had also urged the city to make 14th Street two-way, sees the change as a step toward getting a traffic light installed at the intersection of 14th Street and 30th Avenue, which is right outside the elementary school P.S. 171Q.

But the Department of Transportation currently has no plans for further changes along 14th Street, a spokesperson said when asked about the traffic light proposal.