Despite some local opposition, workers will begin today converting Kent Avenue into a one-way road, reports The Brooklyn Paper. The past year has been dramatic for this key connecting route between Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Downtown. Last year, the city replaced hundreds of parking spaces with bike lanes on either side of the avenue. And now, the current plan is to allow only north-bound car traffic, reinstate parking lanes on both sides, and use one of the parking lanes as a buffer for a protected, two-directional bike lane. Supporters of this layout say that Kent Avenue will be safer and easier to use for bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists alike. Opponents worry that south-bound truck traffic formerly isolated to Kent will now overflow onto residential streets like Wythe. The workers today will begin on the section between Clymer Street and Broadway, and they plan to do the section between Broadway and North 14th in September, says the Department of Transportation.
Kent Avenue Goes One-Way [Brooklyn Paper]
The Kent Avenue Conundrum [Brownstoner]