What to Do with the BQE Ditch
The Columbia Waterfront Association mentioned last week that a primary concern for the land use committee this fall will be the fate of the one-mile stretch of the BQE, known as The Ditch, that separates the Columbia Waterfront from Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. The Brooklyn Paper reported in 2008 that Representative Nydia Velazquez (DGowanus)…
The Columbia Waterfront Association mentioned last week that a primary concern for the land use committee this fall will be the fate of the one-mile stretch of the BQE, known as The Ditch, that separates the Columbia Waterfront from Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. The Brooklyn Paper reported in 2008 that Representative Nydia Velazquez (DGowanus) had obtained $300,000 in public funds for a study to explore possible solutions. Ideas being thrown around at the time included the mayor’s call for housing decks above the highway, or parks and pedestrian bridges. The Paper reported again last June that the Economic Development Corporation had much less ambitious concepts for The Ditch: planted buffers, new street furniture, sidewalk repairs, and other primarily aesthetic improvements. What would you like to see?
Fix the Ditch [Columbia Waterfront Association]
Locals Want BQE Cover-up [Brooklyn Paper]
City Plan for BQE: Less Clean, Less Green [Brooklyn Paper]
Image of early proposal by dlandstudio
How about fixing the BQE!!
“The Brooklyn Paper reported in 2008 that Representative Nydia Velazquez (D–Gowanus) had obtained $300,000 in public funds for a study to explore possible solutions.”
$300,000 to “explore possibly solutions”? Here piggy, piggy….
Tax-increment financing funded by the increased revenue from real estate taxes could fund part of this, but the state and Feds would have to pony up a lot to cover this. Love the idea.
covering the ditch would not be nearly as expensive as digging a tunnel ala Boston. The BQE is such a horror-show cutting right through residential areas without as much as sound barriers. Something really needs to be done now that we know that these communities are not simply vanishing off the face of the earth as Robert Moses hoped.
Cover the Ditch and build a nice park on top
This old gag is brought up every few years, whether its’ the ditch in Cobble Hill or the elevated highway in Sunset Park. Where is the money coming from for this? The big dig cost Boston billions. Even if the mob doesn’t get involved with this, it would still cost billions…
http://www.forgotten-ny.com
some greenery and nicer crosswalks would be great. it is truly a dismal stretch in an otherwise pretty area. the crosswalk around 3rd street(?) is hideous and looks like it’s falling apart. $300k for idea gathering? scary to think how much the actual improvements would cost. yeeps.
a simple greenlawn park – keeps it open, easy to make and goes some way to offsetting the car fumes.
how ’bout a proper burial/funeral.
cover the darn thing and you’d seriously raise property values.
but pls make it a park.