Street Upgrades Near Brooklyn Bridge Park Gain Steam

Yesterday at the Community Board 2 Transportation Meeting the DOT presented an extensive update on three projects happening around Brooklyn Bridge Park. The first has to do with traffic changes at the BQE entrance ramp off Atlantic Avenue. Residents have expressed concerns about drivers making illegal turns onto the ramp and taking a right on red through the crosswalk. In general, the crosswalk is thought to be intimidating for pedestrians. The city has proposed two adding two new concrete islands, one of which will be placed in the middle of the crosswalk to reduce pedestrian crossing time. The other island will be used to protect against illegal left turns from Atlantic onto the ramp. There will also be new street striping, to keep cars from cutting into the entrance ramp lane, and new signal phasing. The second update was for Old Fulton Street (pictured) streetscape improvements. The DOT has already worked on improvements on nearby Front Street, Hicks Street and Furman. Proposals set to be implemented next spring include new crosswalks and sidewalk extensions on Vine and Doughty streets near the BQE. As for Old Fulton Street, the DOT will build out an extended refuge island at Water Street; widen the road as it approaches Water and Front; add dashed striping to discourage illegal parking; and add a new crosswalk with a curbside bike lane at Front Street. Finally, the DOT updated the board on Furman Street traffic patterns since it became a two-way street this summer. The change has had a positive effect on neighborhood circulation and calmed traffic, although there has been a request to accommodate loading at Old Fulton. DOT continues to monitor traffic patterns and plans to work with the park to meet the pedestrian and bicycle needs on Furman. The CB2 Transportation committee made a motion to approve both improvements at the BQE and on Old Fulton Street.