City to calm traffi c on 20th Street
DOT to implement new ‘Bike Boulevard,’ other measures in Greenwood Heights
BY JESSICA PARKS
City transportation gurus
hope to install a slate of traffi
c-calming measure along two
streets in Greenwood Heights
by the fall — something which
they say will lessen the impacts
of truck traffi c on the
neighborhood, while bridging
gaps in existing bike routes
for local cyclists.
Earlier this month, reps
from the city’s Department
of Transportation presented
their plans to convert 20th
Street into a one-way road
headed toward the waterfront
between Third and McDonald
avenues to a local civic panel.
As part of the city’s new
Bike Boulevard initiative, the
proposal also includes the installation
of car-deterring
infrastructure along neighboring
21st Street — which
already runs one-way toward
Windsor Terrace between
Third and Seventh avenues.
Mayor Bill de Blasio had
pledged to build one of the socalled
Bike Boulevards in each
borough by the end of the year,
essentially adding infrastructure
COURIER L 18 IFE, AUGUST 13-19, 2021
to a roadway that calms
driving speeds to allow bikers
and cars to peacefully coexist
on the same street without removing
parking.
A DOT employee said the
measure would allow people to
drive on the road if they need,
but the mechanisms would encourage
drivers to use alternative
routes whenever possible.
“We are not diverting traffi
c off the street,” said Eileen
Botti, a transportation planner
in the department’s bicycle
unit. “We are just heavily
discouraging that cut-through
traffi c through design.”
The Greenwood bike boulevard,
paired with a waterfront
bound protected bike
lane proposed for neighboring
20th Street, will fi ll a gap in
bike lanes through the neighborhood,
and connect Prospect
Park with the incoming Brooklyn
Waterfront Greenway.
In addition to increased bicycle
and pedestrian safety,
the one-way conversion of
20th Street would add parking
spaces to the more-residential
parts between Third and
Fourth Avenue, transportation
offi cials said. And while
it will account for a total loss
of approximately 130 spaces
to make way for the two-way
shared path, reps said those
losses would largely include
lesser-used spots along Greenwood
Cemetery between Seventh
and McDonald avenues.
The proposal also meets
goals set in the city’s ongoing
effi ciency plan for truck routing
as it improves truck passage
by eliminating the risk
of them not being able to pass
each other on the narrow road.
Two speed bumps will also be
added on Seventh Avenue between
2oth and 22nd Streets to
slow traffi c around the exit of
the bike boulevard.
The head of the CB7’s transportation
committee raised
concerns at the Aug. 3 meeting
that truck traffi c will be
pushed to a similarly crowded
19th Street, where the transportation
agency didn’t propose
any alterations to ease
traffi c. Meanwhile, others
fear the conversion will create
congestion all around the
neighborhood as drivers seek
an eastbound route to leave.
“I feel like we’re glossing
over the impact that it’s going
to have on 19th Street,” said
Zach Jasie. “It is just inevitable…
19th Street is going to become
an eastbound corridor.”
Jeremy Laufer, Community
Board 7’s district manager, retorted
that it is unlikely that
there will be any stepped-up enforcement
of oversized vehicles
on 20th Street, claiming the
board has been asking for the
same thing from DOT for more
than a decade. “Let me quickly
say we’ve been asking for increased
enforcement on 20th
Street for 11 years,” he said.
Ofi cials told board members
that the proposed signage,
which they say will be plentiful,
and the new design should
be effective in routing truck
drivers away from 19th Street.
The agency has also vowed to
work with the local 72nd Precinct
to step up enforcement of
improper road usage by truck
drivers in the area.
Still, the agency is forging
ahead. “We are hoping for October,”
said Shawn Macias,
the deputy director of DOT’s
bicycle unit.
A proposed Bike Boulevard on Greenwood Heights’ 21st Street would not
eliminate traffi c or parking from the eastbound roadway. NYC DOT
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