In the past two weeks, two different cars flew off a newly-renovated ramp off the lower exit of the renamed Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge (ugh), crashing into the same group of storefronts. One pedestrian and one passenger have died from injuries sustained during the crashes, and now locals and politicians are blaming the DOT's changes to traffic patterns. State Senator Mike Gianaris told the Daily News, "Queens motorists, residents and small-business owners should not have to endure errant, projectile vehicles being launched at them on a weekly basis due to the dangerous design of an off-ramp."
Gianaris blames the DOT's confusing traffic patterns set up to help drivers avoid construction. “As the work is getting done, make sure that traffic safety is brought into account more than it has,” he told CBS 2. “And for goodness sake, when there’s been a series of accidents like this, make sure you accept responsibility and fix the problem so that it doesn’t happen again."
However, the DOT says that speeding drivers are to blame, and that signs stating the 30 mph speed limit on the bridge and 20 mph signs on the off ramps were recently installed and very easy to read. "Speeding is a critical safety problem across the city and both of these early morning crashes involved very high speeds," said DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow. "Both vehicles struck the bridge's guardrail and both lost control before they ever reached the street." They do say they will add rumble strips.
