Transit

Here’s another look at the BQE’s ‘Stoop’ design plan

February 27, 2023 Mary Frost

Marc Wouters Studios Stoop Method Crossection 20230226 Brooklyn’s Marc Wouters Studios rendering of The Stoop design. Rendering courtesy of Marc Wouters Studios

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The New York City Department of Transportation is set to present on Tuesday night another round of design ideas to reconstruct the deteriorating 1.5-mile Triple Cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE Central).

One of the preliminary plans unveiled in December, dubbed “The Stoop” by DOT, is similar to a plan developed by Brooklyn’s Marc Wouters Studios, according to designer Wouters, who has continued to work on the design.

“I started back on this concept back in 2018-2019 and presented to the Mayor’s Expert panel in 2019. The early version of the concept was shown to DOT staff in 2019 and was featured in national publications,” Wouters told the Brooklyn Eagle.

“Much to my surprise, DOT showed this concept in their December 2022 presentation and called it ‘The Stoop.’ I’m glad DOT is showing it.”

Wouters added, “We have continued to develop this concept since 2019 by testing dimensions, surveying field measurements, and incorporating the viewpoints of many stakeholders.”

The Eagle reached out to NYC DOT about their version of The Stoop. “There are notable design differences between DOT’s concept and the designer’s proposal,” DOT responded. “The designs differ fundamentally in structure and scope.”

“I don’t want an issue over authorship to overshadow the bigger conversation about a concept that would benefit the communities along the BQE,” Wouters said. “I’m just glad the option is being considered.”

Wouters has years of experience working on transformational highway projects and urban design. He is currently working on a highway teardown for the city of Syracuse’s I-81.

He was hired by the Brooklyn Heights Association in 2018 to develop an alternate to the city’s original disastrous BQE rehab proposal, which would have demolished the landmarked Brooklyn Heights Promenade and temporarily replaced it with a six-lane highway. His plan opened the door to an onrush of alternate design ideas.

He began work on his “Stoop” plan soon afterward, he said.

Marc Wouters, principal of Marc Wouters Studios. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

A mention from DOT

At DOT’s December presentation, Wouters’ earlier contribution did merit a shout-out by Julie Bero, NYCDOT Chief Strategy Officer.

“Open space over a tunnel” was the design most desired by those who have been involved in the process, Bero told the crowd. “As in BIG’s BQPark design and the Brooklyn Height’s Association’s design.” (Wouters’ original design for BHA was very different from The Stoop, Wouters notes.)

The schematics of three preliminary plans presented by DOT in December were basic representations of complex designs, and the distinguishing characteristics were difficult to discern without serious study.

“They showed a simple, short 300-foot-long diagram of the concept. I’ve done much more work on several thousand feet of this complex corridor including construction phasing studies, connection studies at the north and south ends, ADA accessible ramp studies, clearance studies, etc.,” Wouters said.

Wouters provided a rendering of his version of The Stoop design to the Eagle.

One version of the NYC Department of Transportation’s diagram of The Stoop, unveiled in December. Courtesy of the NYC DOT

The Stoop design basics

Wouters believes The Stoop proposal could cost hundreds of millions of dollars less and possibly be quicker to build than some of the other schemes. “It requires significantly less new construction and uses roughly a third of the concrete of a full reconstruction,” he said.

The Stoop preserves the landmarked Brooklyn Heights Promenade and routes both directions of traffic onto an expanded four-lane lower deck of the Triple Cantilever. The flimsier middle level (currently carrying northbound traffic) could be transformed into a pedestrian/biking area with dog parks, local agriculture and landscaping.

The proposal doesn’t require major alterations to Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the pedestrian level could connect to the park at several points, depending on the park’s preferences, Wouters said. Local traffic on Furman Street below the highway would remain two-way as it is currently.

The design includes a possible reduction of the BQE in the Joralemon Street area, by converting the two level structure to a one level structure with four lanes. (The shoulders will narrow in the Joralemon Street area to stay away from the buildings, he said.)

The plan also restricts the highway to two lanes (plus shoulder) in each direction, as recommended by numerous studies — including Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2020 BQE Expert Panel report, the 2020 Arup/NYC City Council report, and the Regional Planning Association’s 2019 Reimagining the BQE report.

However, DOT says that regulatory bodies may require three lanes (plus shoulder) in each direction. The unanswered question of how many lanes the highway should consist of has delayed the environmental review of the entire project. On Friday, the city’s Department of Transportation announced that it would be shifting the expected start of the project’s environmental review phase from Spring 2023 to Autumn 2023.

Wouters says The Stoop plan would not be possible if the highway is required to have three traffic lanes in each direction.

Traffic could keep moving during construction

Because The Stoop would not require a “bypass” highway to be constructed and then dismantled following completion of the “main” highway, traffic would be able to keep flowing with no detours during most of the construction process, Wouters said.

“We are moving the traffic to the lowest level of cantilever — the lowest level of the BQE — and building an independent, two story concrete structure the entire length of the Triple Cantilever,” Wouters said. “It attaches to the side of the existing BQE. It’s actually pretty simple. You’ll have four lanes, and then on top of it you basically are abandoning the traffic lanes of the upper travel deck of the BQE and turning it into pedestrian use.”

Wouters chose to use the lower level because “it has a shorter cantilever and has large support connections to the ground,” he said.

Staging would allow vehicles to use BQE during construction

One of the advantages of this plan is it allows for the staging of the construction so that, for the most part, the BQE’s 155,000 vehicles a day never have to be detoured onto city streets.

“That is a key criteria,” Wouters said. “

The exception would be during construction of the ends where the new roadway will connect to the old roadway, especially at Joralemon Street.

Stages of construction

- A new two-story, column supported concrete structure is built alongside the existing Triple Cantilever.

- The southbound traffic on the existing lower level can then be relocated sideways onto the new structure.

- The existing lower level concrete can then be repaired and strengthened.

- Once that is complete, the upper level traffic can be relocated down to the newly repaired lower level.

- The staging is more complex at the north and south ends, especially at the Joralemon Street overpass.

Low hanging fruit

“My belief is that the money saved should be used to fund more sustainable transportation options, which reduce our dependence on the BQE and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in vulnerable neighborhoods along its entire length,” Wouters said.

Wouters thinks planning should also target the “low hanging fruit.”

“There’s a very large number of vehicles [on the BQE] that have just one person in their car, who are coming from places that may not have an easy transit choice. So improving their way of getting around, their way of access — I think that’s the lowest hanging fruit,” Wouters said.