EXCLUSIVE: Colonial Road intersection to see major improvements

For Bay Ridge residents like Richard Christy, the intersection at 68th Street and Colonial Road has been a nightmare for years. Earlier this summer, Christy, a resident of 72nd Street and Colonial Road, petitioned in favor of an additional stop sign at the dangerous corner, garnering over 250 signatures in just three hours.

“A lot of motorists just do not care what is going on around them,” said the father of two who, on Sunday, August 24 was buckling his daughter into her car-seat when, he told this paper, a driver whipped around the corner at 50 miles per hour, just missing Christy by an inch and nearly taking off the door of his car. “These drivers whip around the corner, through the stop signs.”

Christy isn’t the only one who has been disturbed by the lack of a traffic control at the intersection.

“The intersection at 68th Street and Colonial Road has been on my radar for quite some time,” said Councilmember Vincent Gentile, announcing that, with his office’s persuasion, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has agreed to install traffic signals at the intersection, as well as speed humps along 68th Street from Colonial to Shore Road. “With entrances and exits to the highway and Owl’s Head Park nearby, along with the sleepy side streets and kids crossing on bikes into the park, I knew something had to be done.”

According to Gentile, the improvements will be put into place within the coming months.

“I was petitioning for a stop sign, but it’s even better that we are getting a traffic light,” said Christy, happy to hear the good news. “There is an absolute need for more. There isn’t enough you can say about this, and there aren’t enough people you can get involved.”

“I thank you for your advocacy and doing your part to help keep our neighborhood safe for all to enjoy,” lauded the councilmembers of his constituents, noting, “It’s really no wonder Bay Ridge was named ‘The Best Place in Brooklyn to Raise a Family.’”

While that’s an honor, Christy said, all Bay Ridge needs to do now is crack down on traffic conditions.

“We have all the amenities; we have the parks, the schools,” he said, “but all we need to do now is crack down on these traffic problems, and get people to open their eyes.”

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