Brooklyn Bridge Park Access Improvements

On Thursday, July 7, representatives from NYC Department of Transportation presented proposed alterations to the intersection of Atlantic Avenue, Columbia Street and Furman Street in order to increase safety for the large number of pedestrians and bicyclists that cross this intersection due to the opening of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

More than a year ago COWNA requested improvements to this intersection as part of our comprehensive survey of Columbia Street safety needs. Other neighborhood groups and elected officials have also pushed for improvements. Thanks are due to DOT for working hard to bring this proposal before our community, presumably as quickly as they were able to.

Image from DOT

The proposed changes will improve the experience of getting to the park. However, it falls far short of a comprehensive solution to the problem of providing convenient and safe access to one of New York's newest and most compelling public spaces.

The central failing of the proposal is its acceptance of the existing traffic conditions around the BQE entrance at Atlantic and the existing truck access to Pier 7. We all know that a significant contributor to the congestion around the intersection of Atlantic, Hicks, Furman and Columbia is drivers taking shortcuts on Hicks, Furman and Columbia to avoid the BQE. Any plan to improve pedestrian safety should have included a thorough analysis of these traffic patterns and measures to reduce the bypassing traffic. At the most dangerous intersection, the ramp from Atlantic to the eastbound BQE, the proposal suggests mainly new signage. This is hardly likely to result in a significant improvement.

At the truck entrance to Pier 7, the proposal includes only providing better sight lines. What really should be acknowledged is that the pier entrance is just in the wrong place. It should be moved to the intersection of Columbia and Congress, where there are already gates, and signalized. This would also allow the creation of a safe pedestrian crossing at Columbia Street and Congress, which is convenient for people approaching from Cobble Hill. The current proposal recommends introducing a new crosswalk at the BQE westbound entrance which puts pedestrians in conflict with vehicles exiting the BQE onto Columbia.

The proposal includes two welcome changes: widening of the sidewalk curving into the park at the south side of Atlantic by shifting the bike lanes into the street and changing the B63 bus route to eliminate the U-turn. Unfortunately, the bike lanes will be protected with jersey barriers, a distinctly second-rate configuration which will probably remain in place for years, slowly deteriorating.

This is essentially a 'painted-on-the-street' proposal and should be considered no more than a temporary placeholder approach until a worthy design that appropriately prioritizes and serves the park-going public is created.

Improved Safety at Pier 6 Entrance

Ellen Whelan-Wuest, the soon-to-be-departing director of Senator Daniel Squadron's Brooklyn office, sends word of some good news:

After extensive conversations with the New York City Department of Transportation about the lack of safe crossings and traffic controls at the new Pier 6 entrance of Brooklyn Bridge Park on Atlantic Avenue, Senator Squadron received word from DOT today that they have heard his and our constituents' cries for improved safety. DOT outline the following steps they are taking to make these intersections safer for all Park visitors and pedestrians:

• "Stop Here on Red" sign on Atlantic Avenue at the eastbound approach to the on-ramp, to communicate to drivers that they do not have a free left turn when the light ahead is red and the pedestrian indication across the ramp is WALK.
• "Turning Vehicles Yield to Pedestrians" sign on Atlantic Avenue at the westbound approach to the on-ramp, to emphasize to drivers that they must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
• Conducting a traffic study to determine if further signal or regulation changes that will reduce vehicle-pedestrian conflicts at this location are feasible. Additional recommendations will be share publicly in near future.
• Evaluating medium term opportunities for more significant reconfigurations to the street network around Pier 6 that will assist with bicycle and pedestrian park access, including the intersection of Columbia Street and Atlantic Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue west of Columbia Street.

We wanted to make sure that everyone knows right away about DOT's response to advocacy from Senator Squadron and members of the community. Senator Squadron will, of course, continue his work to improve pedestrian safety around Pier 6 and in the community. If you have any questions or concerns, please to not hesitate to contact me.

Senator Squadron's Brooklyn office, where you can still catch Ellen for a short while longer, is reachable at (718) 802-3818.