Big Questions About Transportation Near Barclays Center

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    Today Norman Oder, the journalist/blogger who runs Atlantic Yards Report, has a piece on Streetsblog about “three big unknowns” related to transportation planning in advance of the Barclays Center arena’s opening in September. Those unknowns include that there still hasn’t been an announcement about the official plan to encourage arena-goers to use mass transit even though one was “anticipated” last December but is now expected to be released in May; that developer Forest City Ratner hasn’t said how big the 1,100-space surface lot next to the arena is going to be even though construction on it is supposed to start next month; and that it’s still not clear if the Carlton Avenue Bridge will be complete by the time the arena opens in September. Following up on the Streetsblog post on his own site, Oder digs deeper into the Carlton Avenue bridge question. It boils down to there being a lot of evasion from Forest City and state officials about whether or not the bridge is on schedule to open when the arena does. Here’s the kicker, and how it relates to Atlantic Yards development beyond the arena: “The bridge reconstruction is part of an ‘Arena Opening Condition’ required by the Atlantic Yards Development Agreement. However, failure to meet that condition would result in only the freezing of Forest City Ratner’s rights to move forward on any new residential development. Forest City is, as of last month, not expected to have the first tower started by the arena opening, but presumably it would make opening the bridge an even higher priority. So a delay might not be significant.”
    Barclays Center Mysteries: Three Big Unknowns About Arena Transportation [Streetsblog]
    Down to the Wire: Carlton Avenue Bridge Could Reopen “Before Asphalt Paved”; State Official Contradicts Consultant’s Report That Bridge is Behind Schedule [AY Report]

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