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September 22, 2009

CB1 Criticizes Truck Traffic in Williamsburg

truck_220909.jpgAt the meeting of Community Board 1 last week, residents of North 11th Street in Williamsburg raised their hackles over the parade of truck traffic that has marched down their street ever since a portion of Kent Avenue became northbound-only as part of the Kent Avenue Improvement Plan. David Wolloch, from the Department of Transportation, said: "We’re not going to be trying to divert more trucks to North 11th Street. We’re going to monitor the truck traffic on North 11th, open signal studies, and route more trucks directly to North 14th.We have not been doing what we should have been doing for decades." The DOT also hopes to divert traffic to Greenpoint, McGuiness, and Meeker avenues, but, as feared, trucks are currently taking routes through residential streets. While many residents don't oppose bike lanes (a major part of the improvement plan), they did express frustration at their exclusion from the planning process. “I’ve been screaming for one and a half years that they were not going to the community and now everyone is suffering,” CB1 member Simon Weiser told YourNabe.com.
Truck Troubles on North 11th Street [YourNabe.com]
Truck Troubles on North 11th Street [Brooklyn 11211]
Kent Traffic Shifts to Wythe [Brownstoner]
Photo by mikequozl




Posted by jscheff at 10:15 AM | Comments (14)
Categories: Bicycling, Greenpoint, Streets, Williamsburg

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Comments

I guess those pesky factories and warehouse with their "jobs" stand in the way of post modern trendy progress...

Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at September 22, 2009 10:21 AM

Look if the issue here is adding a bike lane or ruining a neighborhood, I think we can all agree the bike lane is more important and further discussion of the issue will be unnecessary.

Posted by: northsloperenter at September 22, 2009 10:32 AM

I wouldn't a little focus on all the illegal thru-truck traffic in Fort Greene. Who's the best person, what is the best City agency to speak with about my concerns?

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 22, 2009 10:33 AM

Seriously - take the bike lane out.

But where are these trucks coming from/going to that they can't take McGuinness to the BQE?

Posted by: dirty_hipster at September 22, 2009 10:34 AM

Bedford Ave(A RESIDENTIAL STREET) in Central and Southern Brooklyn was made a truck route a couple of years ago around the same time that bike lanes were put in. I've noticed that wherever there are bike lanes there usually is a truck route (5th Ave). IS this some kind of trade-off that happens whenever there is a new truck route. If this is true and was known people on residential streets might not want bike lanes. Diesel fumes aren't so good for you I HEAR...

Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at September 22, 2009 10:39 AM

Obviously they are going to the Brooklyn Brewery.

Oh, and if you look at Google maps for the corner of kent and 11th there seems to be a warehouse that has over 20 large trucks in the parking lot.

Posted by: northsloperenter at September 22, 2009 10:41 AM

P.S. Not that I would expect city planners to do anything as difficult as look at a freakin' Google map for 10 stinking seconds before making decisions that affect thousands of peoples lives...

Posted by: northsloperenter at September 22, 2009 10:43 AM

P.P.S. Ah, they are trash trucks... But the place over on 12th street seems to have more standard commercial trucks.

Posted by: northsloperenter at September 22, 2009 10:44 AM

I agree NSR

Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at September 22, 2009 10:47 AM

About the planning, not the bike lane being more important. If a bike lane = a truck route I vote NO to bike lanes

Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at September 22, 2009 10:51 AM

North 11th HAS BEEN a truck route FOR YEARS.(look it up; most easily accessed in all the rezoning city planning docs). Sorry if you bought a luxury condo IN AN INDUSTRIAL NEIGHBORHOOD on an ESTABLISHED TRUCK ROUTE....

Posted by: rtg at September 22, 2009 12:07 PM

"About the planning, not the bike lane being more important. "

Yeah, I was being sarcastic about the bike lane being more important.

Am in a pissy mood today...

Posted by: northsloperenter at September 22, 2009 12:16 PM

the whole thing has been a disingenuous coup to preserve parking for certain residents on kent. The majority of businesses have alwasy been on kent, and having kent two way since the dawn of time has kept truck traffic off the inland streets. Its now being spread out to the inconvenience of the old time residents - not the fancy new condo owners on kent. You lot have got it ass upwards. Not to mention the bike lines already in place besides theKent avenue one. Its a balls up. Want Kent needed was traffic lights.

Posted by: dittoburg at September 22, 2009 4:04 PM

I hate the new traffic routing on Kent. Cars parked in the middle of a goddamn street? For bikes?!?? going between...Williamsburg and...Clinton Hill?!?? WTF? I agree, this was a coup for residential parking in a place that was traditionally not residential. From a practical standpoint -- going against the grain (aka, getting back to Clinton Hill on Kent) I have witnessed tractor trailer traffic on Wythe et al that you would never have seen 3 months ago -- including backed up lights etc. Kent was one of the great thoroughfares between nabes -- if safety was truly a concern, stop signs, patrolling, and gasp (speed bumps) could have been implemented. Moreover, seriously, who was consulted on this plan -- a parade of mini-vans in the middle of a (formerly) two lane road to protect say 20 bicyclists per hour that use this street??????

Redundant, but I hate it. And we paid for it.

Posted by: davide5 at September 23, 2009 2:25 AM

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