Dangerous Atlantic Avenue crossing near Brooklyn Bridge Park is now safer

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The New York City Department of Transportation has completed improvements on two pedestrian intersections on Atlantic Avenue around the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway entrance and exit ramps — dangerous crossings for pedestrians trying to enter Brooklyn Bridge Park from the avenue.

The improvements include a new pedestrian island at Furman Street, expansion of the pedestrian island at Columbia Street, new signal timing to give pedestrians dedicated crossing time, the installation of audible pedestrian signals and other tweaks, according to state Sen. Andrew Gounardes. 

“For too long, the street has been designed to put speed over safety, with deadly results,” Gounardes said in a release. “These safety upgrades, along with new murals and lighting installed at the BQE underpass, thanks to the work of the Atlantic Avenue [Business Improvement District], are helping to transform this street from a dangerous car-centric throughway to a safe community corridor designed to put people first.”

Community leaders and elected officials have long been calling for safety improvements on Atlantic Avenue after years of tragic deaths and fiery crashes. Despite a speed limit of 25 mph, the avenue acts as a de facto highway leading to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s entrance and exit ramps. Shanti Joyner, age 18, and Katherine Harris, 31, are among those who lost their lives on that stretch of the street. 

In April 2023, community organizations and elected officials — including Gounardes, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, Councilmembers Lincoln Restler and Shahana Hanif, the Atlantic Avenue BID, and the Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights associations — sent a host of traffic-calming ideas to DOT. In July 2024, the agency announced it would begin work on many of these suggestions, and several have been implemented, including installing mid-block traffic crossings and now, improving the pedestrian space around the BQE ramps.

Advocates say even more changes are needed to improve street safety.

Atlantic Avenue “is like I-95 running through your neighborhood,” Kelly Carroll, Executive Director of the Atlantic Avenue BID, said at a gathering in July 2024 commemorating the dead and celebrating DOT’s agreement to make improvements.