OPINION: DUMBO needs more traffic lights
Every day on the way to work, I pass by Front Street in DUMBO. It is a busy street, with trucks, a cab dispatcher nearby, and many private cars. Yet, if you want to cross the street you have to look around, wait until there are no cars, and then cross. Often, you see the awkward sight of two drivers trying to decide which one will go first, and which one will wait. That’s right, there are no traffic lights here.
DUMBO was designed in the early 1900s as a purely industrial district. There were few, if any, cars on the street in those days. Goods were delivered in two ways – by horse and wagon, and by a street freight rail line whose tracks can still be seen in the area. People who worked in the lofts and factories probably walked to work. The opening of a subway stop at York Street during the 1930s didn’t change the neighborhood that much – it remained largely industrial.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, even though the automobile now ruled the streets, industry began to leave DUMBO and the area became more deserted, especially after working hours. As late as 1992, the movie “Scent of a Woman” shows Al Pacino, when he wants to test-drive a new Ferrari at high speeds, heading to DUMBO because he knows there will be few, if any, pedestrians or drivers on the streets.