STATEN ISLAND — Residents said traffic circles the city added to slow down speeding cars in their neighborhood are not working— and now they have video to prove it.
The circles along Greeley Avenue were put in to slow traffic down in 2017 after a series of bad crashes three years ago. It was done against the wishes of many community members, including the local councilman, who wanted to see stop signs instead.
Bill Troeller has lived on Greeley Avenue for 21 years. The incident that wrecked his car and fence was caught on video. Both drivers involved said the traffic circle both cars went though prior to the crash did nothing to slow either down.
“The guy who was hit flew into my car, knocked it back about six feet, and the other guy ended up in my front lawn,” Troeller recounted.
Neighbor Brian Wissert said the circle effectively made turning onto the road more dangerous. However, most importantly, many still see cars continue to whip right around the roundabouts every day.
Meanwhile, the city has slowly begun using roundabout more and more to calm traffic— including in the Bronx.
In an open records request, the City DOT said the circles have reduced crashes by 27% along Greeley. Troeller say he hasn’t noticed a difference. He said people were out of control before the roundabouts, sometimes running into his fence then, and he said they are obviously still speeding now.
The DOT has continued to say it will monitor the situation along Greeley Avenue.
