Urban Planning

Saturday afternoon traffic congestion on a London street near Covent Garden with dimensions and land use almost identical to Prince Street in Manhattan.

What could be worse than replacing neighborhood parks with private parking decks, built with the specific intent of increasing car trips by the tens of thousands through a community already suffering from so much disease-causing pollution that its nickname is "Asthma Alley"?

Gowanus Lounge reports on the debate over DOT's 9th Street redesign plan at last night's Park Slope Civic Council meeting. The Civic Council voted overwhelmingly to "table" a plan that would provide the neighborhood with improved pedestrian safety on one of the most hazardous streets in the area, enhanced cyclist safety along a key access route to Prospect Park and Red Hook, and traffic-calming along an overly broad street with low vehicle counts and a serious speeding problem.

 DOT Deputy Commissioner Michael Primeggia on March 15: "I know that two-way streets are less safe."

DOT wants 20th and 21st Streets to be Lower Manhattan's prime river-to-river bike route.

As New York ponders - and ducks - a solution to gridlocked streets in the wake of the mayor's 2030 plan, transportation planners across the Hudson are contemplating a marked increase in congestion on the city's already overburdened sidewalks.

Current configuration

Please note: This was an April Fool's Day post...

As noted elsewhere, tonight the transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 6 will consider a plan by DOT to redesign 9th Street from Third Avenue to Prospect Park West in Park Slope, Brooklyn.