Changes Coming To Ava’s Corner?

By Dan Guarino
Traffic flies past the corner of Rockaway Beach Blvd. and Beach 108th Street, a major crossing point where year-round thousands of residents, visitors, commuters, school students and swift moving vehicles pass a well-tended memorial to Ava Conklin. Conklin, age 19, was struck and killed on June 23, 2023, when a driver jumped the curb and plowed through several metal benches and small trees before hitting her as she waited at the bus stop there.
On August 3, 2024, on what would have been her 21st birthday, hundreds of family members, many from Broad Channel and Rockaway, friends and community residents gathered for a ceremony co-naming that portion of the boulevard as “Ava Conklin Way.”
Now, a year and a half after her tragic death, it appears the Department of Transportation (DOT) has been prompted to take steps to make the corner safer.
According to Councilwoman Joann Ariola’s office, on May 30, 2024, a Broad Channel resident, who asked not to be named for this story, reached out to them “to ask for help getting a guardrail placed at the 108th Street site where Ava Conklin was killed.” Ariola’s staff contacted DOT to see if this could be done. They were advised a study regarding placing a barrier or other measures would take 90 days. A case number was assigned, and they were advised to check back in September.
The issue, according to the resident, stems from the design of the corner itself, reconfigured as part of a $16.6 million major overhaul completed in June 2023. A NYC media release noted the infrastructure project’s aim was to rebuild the Beach 108th Street corridor from the Beach Channel Drive to Shore Front Parkway. Underway since 2021, it included major changes to storm drains, sewers, streets, medians, turning areas, traffic lanes, parking and sidewalks from bay to beach.
“The new design,” NYC announced, “also delivered new and widened sidewalks, new crosswalks, and curb extensions at crossings and the local bus stop.”
“That’s where the problem starts,” the Broad Channel resident noted. Most city bus stops are placed along continuous existing sidewalks, usually adjacent to parking lanes, and designated by “no standing” signs to keep them clear. Buses must pull out of traffic and over to the curb to pick up or unload passengers.
The current design at the Beach 108th Street stop has the sidewalk protruding out from the corner across the width of the parking lane and onto Rockaway Beach Blvd., right alongside traffic. The section where the bus stop juts out from the sidewalk is the exact spot where the driver jumped the curb and struck Conklin.
“I have been asking all around who actually came up with the idea to make the sidewalk bigger, putting everybody at the bus stop at risk and in danger,” said Ava’s father, Matthew Conklin. “Also, I have been asking, who approved this? My family and especially myself are outraged that they did this in the first place.”
“What happened was an unnecessary tragedy,” the constituent who originally called Ariola’s office said. “Not putting in a guardrail to stop an oncoming vehicle and to stop this from happening again would be a completely avoidable and bigger tragedy.”
Even a temporary barrier, he said, like the large orange and white plastic ones used at road construction sites all over Rockaway, would make the area safer and could be quickly deployed. The Councilwoman’s office confirmed, “On June 18, we reached back out (to DOT) to ask if, while we wait for the study to be complete, can something be done to make the area safer while we wait.” That request was denied.
Continuing to contact DOT on the study’s status, on September 3, they received an email noting, “Your recommendation was reviewed and forwarded to DOT’s Design and Construction for further evaluation and action.” Following up in mid-September, they were advised the agency was “making adjustments to the signage, adding reflective arrows” to the area in question. Residents noted seeing a new yellow and black vertical sign at the bus stop curb.
Stating “We still needed an answer on the guardrail question,” Ariola’s office continued requesting updates. Finally, in a January phone conversation with DOT Borough Planner Emanuel Evans, they were advised that guardrails were not appropriate for that site, but DOT would be installing “vertical measures to call out the change in the roadway,” and it would take up to a year for these measures to be implemented. They would also ensure all road markings were visible and working as intended.
Reached for comment, DOT’s press division confirmed this spring the agency will be installing “flexible delineators” next to the bus stop, which would increase driver and pedestrian visibility at the corner.
Standing 36 inches tall, delineators are white semi-flexible plastic posts like those placed at Beach 102nd Street and RBB or Beach 108th Street and Shore Front Parkway.
According to the website for Seton, a commercial product supplier, delineators “have various uses related to guiding traffic or blocking areas off from vehicles without permanent barriers. Lane separation is one of the most common uses for these devices. They can serve as dividers when road markings aren’t present or are difficult to see.” Seton notes these posts “won’t really stop a car that drives into or over it,” rather “the delineator will simply snap back into place.”
The DOT’s proposed remedies, however, are not satisfying everyone. “(They are) responsible for Beach 108th Street and RBB and all of the troubles that have been going on with that new set up,” Matthew Conklin explained. “DOT not wanting to make everyone safe is an outrage to everyone and the community. Public safety is at risk every day. Our community is in danger.”
“I really appreciate Councilwoman Ariola’s staff, how they stuck to this,” said the resident who first brought up the issue. “And I’m glad DOT is finally making some changes. It isn’t the solution I had hoped for, like a guardrail or barrier. But whether it makes things safer or not, well, that remains to be seen.”
Photos by Dan Guarino.