YEGER RELEASES 4-POINT PLAN TO REDUCE TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Kalman Yeger, the Democratic and Conservative parties’ candidate for City Council, released a 4-point plan to reduce traffic congestion in Borough Park, Flatbush and Bensonhurst.

 “Every part of our neighborhood faces traffic congestion,” said Yeger. “As a Community Board member for the last 17 years, I’ve worked to address congestion and dangerous intersections throughout our community. Today, I am proposing four common-sense solutions to some of the most problematic traffic issues in our neighborhood.”

Community Control

Far too often, streets are closed during particularly busy times, like during the morning rush hour or on Friday afternoons. Yeger’s Community Control solution would allow the local Community Board to weigh in before the City issues street closure permits for non-emergencies, like planned utility work, filming, street festivals and street milling.

 “As a Community Board Member, I know that our Boards know our neighborhoods better than bureaucrats in a Manhattan office,” said Yeger. “Our Community Boards should have the ability to review street closures before they happen and to offer alternative dates and times, so that street closures don’t happen when our streets are busiest. With just a little better planning, we can make life a lot easier on thousands of our neighborhood’s residents.  This is a common-sense solution to an everyday problem.”

 The Borough Park Shuttle

The Borough Park Shuttle will be similar to programs run by the Downtown Alliance in Manhattan and the well-known Seagate Shuttle, which travels between Borough Park and Seagate. Both are heavily subsidized by the city. They alleviate traffic congestion by keeping cars off the roads and freeing parking spaces and boost the local economy by helping shoppers frequent neighborhood merchants.

The shuttle will run throughout Borough Park during the day, picking up and dropping off passengers along every avenue from 12th through 18th, between 40th and 60th Streets. The shuttle will enable access to the entire Borough Park, while encouraging drivers to leave their cars at home. This will free up our streets and parking spots and allow for quicker travel time throughout the neighborhood.

 “Our major thoroughfares – and even our minor ones – have become a mess. We must work to get cars off our streets and get people where they need to go,” said Yeger. “This is an environmentally-friendly plan because it will encourage drivers to leave their cars at home, and use the shuttle for local trips. It’s also good for our local economy because it will enable consumers to stay local and shop local.” 

“A city-subsidized local shuttle is another common-sense solution to a longstanding problem,” said Yeger. “Effective means of transportation are essential for a thriving neighborhood.” 

Traffic Control Officers 

While the new shuttle will move some cars off our streets, Yeger pledges to work with the NYPD to allocate Traffic Control personnel to keep traffic moving along the major avenues in Borough Park, Flatbush and Bensonhurst. There are well-known intersections and avenues in every part of our neighborhood that are constantly gridlocked. Other neighborhoods throughout the city frequently have Traffic Control personnel to guide traffic and keep things moving, and we need the same in our neighborhood.

“Our neighborhood is an important economic engine in Brooklyn, and if people are stuck, everybody loses,” said Yeger. “We need common-sense solutions, and it just makes sense to have Traffic personnel assigned to the heaviest problem areas to keep traffic flowing, just like other neighborhoods in our city. When our roads our clogged, we get to work late, our kids get to school late, we’re all inconvenienced, and our economy takes a loss. We can and must do better.”

Neighborhood Traffic Review  

Kalman Yeger will bring a fresh perspective to our community. “With the constant growth of our population, we must take a fresh look at any way to alleviate traffic,” said Yeger.

Yeger would require that the Department of Transportation perform traffic studies at the joint request of the local Community Board and Council Member, and that the study be commenced within 120 days of being requested. Currently, while a traffic study may be requested, the Department of Transportation can decide when – or even if – to do one.

We should explore changing some avenues from two-way to one-way, similar to how Avenues N and O and 13th and 14th Avenues were changed years earlier.

“It has been decades since a major traffic-relief idea was introduced into our community,” said Yeger. “We must explore every available option, including turning lanes on select avenues and streets, to keep traffic flowing. I’ll begin this review with our Community Boards and community experts as soon as I take office,” said Yeger.

For example, at Dahill Road, approaching 18th Avenue, it would be so simple to create two lanes, one for left turns and one for right turns. “I have been driving in our neighborhood for over two decades, and there are dozens of examples of how a minor adjustment can tremendously ease traffic,” said Yeger. “In my first month in office, I will ask the Commissioner to join me on another tour of our neighborhood and try to explore some effective ways to relieve the traffic nightmares.”

Kalman Yeger is the Conservative and Democratic parties’ nominee for City Council in Brooklyn’s 44th Council District (Boro Park, Midwood, and Bensonhurst).

Paid for by Yeger For Brooklyn