DOT mulls traffic safety changes in Borough Park, Flatbush

Commissioner Trottenberg takes tour of area

June 29, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and Councilmember David Greenfield chat with local officials during the inspection tour of traffic trouble spots in Borough Park and Flatbush. Photo courtesy of Greenfield’s office

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The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) is now looking at ways to make the streets of two Brooklyn neighborhoods safer for drivers and pedestrians following an inspection tour Commissioner Polly Trottenberg took at the behest of Councilmember David Greenfield.

Greenfield led Trottenberg and several high-level DOT staff members on a tour of several trouble spots in Borough Park and Flatbush were traffic congestion has been a long-standing issue.

At each of the locations, Trottenberg and her team closely examined the traffic conditions and told Greenfield that they would return to the community with recommendations for significant improvements.

“Traffic congestion and safety are the number one quality-of-life issues in Borough Park and Flatbush,” Greenfield said in a statement. “I thank DOT Commissioner Trottenberg and her leadership team for joining me in my district to see firsthand what my constituents have to go through on the way to work, to school and to our parks. I look forward to continuing the partnership strengthened here in Brooklyn in the coming months as we pursue critical changes to make our streets safer and better for all of us.”

The tour, which took place on a recent Friday, began on Ocean Parkway, where Greenfield pointed out the difficulties that drivers face turning onto and off of the main highway because of new turn regulations.

Trottenberg and DOT engineers observed the long waits drivers faced when they attempted to turn. DOT officials agreed to reconsider some of the regulations that prohibit turns from the service roads onto the parkway, particularly near large synagogues and yeshivas.

In addition, Trottenberg agreed to look at ways to ease traffic congestion on Ocean Parkway at 18th Avenue and at Foster Avenue.

That traffic study will also include the area around the 70th Precinct station house on Lawrence Avenue, where police vehicles have to negotiate a narrow street while competing with pick-ups and drop-offs at social service institutions located nearby.

Greenfield also showed Trottenberg the intersection of 13th Avenue and 60th Street, where two-way traffic turns into one-way traffic. Greenfield said many drivers don’t realize the change and go the wrong way down the one-way street.

At another location, 18th Avenue and 56th Street, there is no traffic light, despite the fact that thousands of children cross to enter Gravesend Park.