Some lines were meant to be crossed.
Others just shouldn’t be.
A yellow line that was painted down the middle of Pennyfield Avenue has been a cause for some concern among area residents.
The line has also been the cause of some traffic accidents as well.
Karin O’Connor, a resident of Glennon Place, a street off Pennyfield Avenue, said she finally thought she had made some progress when she saw lines being painted on the street, until she realized they were not the correct type of line.
“I had been working with Lynn Gerbino and Patrick Caruso to get lines painted on Pennyfield Avenue, from Harding Avenue to SUNY Maritime,” O’Connor said. “There has not been painted center lines on Pennyfield for years, and Patrick was able to move this project up and get the lines painted. But they [NYC Department of Transportation] painted broken yellow lines instead of two solid lines. This has caused a dangerous situation.”
According to O’Connor, a single broken yellow line allows traffic to cross the center of the roadway and is most often seen on two-lane rural roadways.
The striped single line also allows for passing on the left hand side, if conditions will allow a driver to do so.
“I got this directly from the New York State highways and roads information on the web site,” O’Connor said. “This is the exact problem I have witnessed, several times, of a car passing another. I am on Pennyfield at least twice a day, every day, as this is my only egress from my dead end block.”
O’Connor said she thinks Pennyfield Avenue is probably one of the more dangerous roads in the community and the option to pass another car should not be allowed.
“There’s no reason why passing should be allowed on Pennyfield Avenue,” she said. “While I am not placing blame of passing on any group-our community residents, visitors at Maritime, or the Naval Reserve-we have a heavy amount of traffic on this very tight street. Giving anyone the right to pass another car is just sheer lunacy and an invitation for tragedy.
This is also a NYC bus route and I consistently see cars go around buses in the opposite lane. Now, the way the lines are painted, that is not a traffic infraction. I realize we cannot rectify every bad traffic situation but this is craziness.”
President of the Throggs Neck Home Owners Association Lynn Gerbino said the association is still waiting to hear back from the NYC DOT on why the lines were painted the way they were.
“We want safety first and it doesn’t seem like this type of line will guarantee safety for our residents,” Gerbino said.
According to the NYC DOT, they only refurbished the markings on Pennyfield Avenue, which reflect a design in place since 2000.
A representative from the DOT said safety is a top priority and given the narrow street, the current yellow “lane line” marking indicates that street is two ways, but at the same time provides motorists with the ability to legally access the second lane to pass.
