In response to one of the biggest sources of frustration for local drivers – constant traffic delays and long travel times while heading towards Manhattan – Councilman David G. Greenfield has asked the state to install High Occupancy Vehicle lanes along the Prospect Expressway. High Occupancy Vehicle lanes are designated solely for vehicles with passengers, as well as buses, motorcycles, emergency vehicles and taxis in order to provide much faster travel times with less gridlock and traffic backups. Currently, there are HOV lanes once you reach the Gowanus Expressway. However, for many drivers, the slowest portion of the trip is the two-mile stretch from where Ocean Parkway becomes the Prospect Expressway north of Church Avenue to its merger with the Gowanus Expressway at Third Avenue.
With that in mind, Councilman Greenfield wrote to New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald to ask the agency to investigate the possibility of installing HOV lanes at the entrance of the Prospect Expressway, which is a state roadway. In his letter, he noted that doing so would greatly improve the commute for thousands of drivers each day who are trying to reach the Gowanus Expressway from Boro Park, Midwood, Kensington and many other neighborhoods across central and southern Brooklyn.
“I know that many Brooklyn residents dread the thought of having to sit in traffic along the Prospect Expressway each morning and afternoon. This is a simple and cost-effective solution that will drastically improve traffic flow, saving thousands of New Yorkers a lot of time and frustration. I plan to work with the state and city agencies on this and other ways to improve travel times along the Prospect Expressway and other important thoroughfares,” said Councilman Greenfield.
The city currently has HOV lanes at four locations around the five boroughs: the Manhattan Bridge, the Long Island Expressway leading to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, the Manhattan-bound Queensboro Bridge and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel approach on the Gowanus Expressway. Each set of HOV lanes are in effect at certain times and have different requirements regarding how many passengers are needed to utilize the lanes.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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3 Responses
This is very good news for many of us.
Gimme a break the man is completely out of his keylim! Why not extend it all the way to sea gate?
Councilman Greenfield is wrong on this one. taking another lane away on the prospect for HOV will only cause further delays. this means one lane not always being used. if you want to relieve traffic on the prospect here are my suggestions:
1. Open up the existing HOV lane to all drivers who use the tunnel. (we pay to use the tunnel anyway). This is the number one reason things get backed up when traffic cuts across all lanes to get over to the lane heading towards the tunnel. (having an officer patrol there only delays things even further).
2. Create 2 lanes heading towards the BQE where the prospect ends on the left side. On the right side going towards the lower level create 1-2 more lanes. This will allow more more traffic to flow off the prospect faster.