On Monday, November 8th, Councilmember Brad Lander hosted Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Joseph Palmieri on a walk-through of the new Fort Hamilton Parkway pedestrian islands. The two talked to local businesses and residents about their concerns, and Commissioner Palmieri agreed to develop a plan to address them.
As part of its “safe routes for seniors” program, the DOT has installed pedestrian safety islands on Fort Hamilton Parkway in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn. The program was created to protect seniors and prevent fatalities, several of which have occurred in recent years along this stretch of road.
Although DOT presented the project to Community Board 12 in June and asked for public input (before, during, and after the meeting), and details of the initiative were published in local media several months prior to the commencement of construction, CB 12 did not take the opportunity to comment on the project at the time, or give any feedback to DOT.
Councilmember Lander made information about the project available after the details were presented to him and earlier this month wrote an Op-ed with additional information about the origins of the project.
With the islands in construction, Lander’s office received phone calls from local merchants concerned that deliveries are now more difficult, and from residents worried about the clear route of emergency vehicles.
In response, Councilmember Lander requested the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation to visit and develop a plan to address the issues raised by the community. Lander also contacted the NYPD, FDNY, and Maimonides Hospital — none of them objected to the project, but the welcomed Lander’s efforts to address community concerns.
In the site visit on Monday, November 8, Lander and Palmieri observed the newly erected safety zones (while still under construction) and the flow of the traffic. They also engaged in constructive conversation with several local merchants and residents listening to complains and figure out ways to help their businesses.Ideas that were proposed included designating delivery and loading zone for certain hours of the day, and moving the B110 bus stop one block to create additional space, and then shifting parking places both to allow deliveries and for easier movement by emergency vehicles.Commissioner Palmieri agreed to follow up on the community feedback and present a plan to Lander and CB 12 to address the issues which have been raised.
YWN PHOTO ALBUM: Click HERE for photos.
(Press Release From Councilman Brad Lander)
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3 Responses
Nice pictures. Just curious if anybody brought to the commissioner’s attention the chaos that now goes on at the intersection of Ft. Hamilton/New Utrecht/45th Street. Now with the island in place we lost a lane and traffic backs up between New Utrecht and 45th Street (very short block) and overflows into the intersection of 45th Street causing chaos on New Utrecht Ave & on 45th Street. I drive thru this intersection every morning and it use to be a breeze up until the island came about. Also, yes they will make accommodations for truck deliveries, quote “designating delivery and loading zone for certain hours of the day”, on account of removing more parking spaces. Ever try to find parking in the vicinity of Maimonides Hospital? Well with the islands and loading zones in place don’t even try. Good Luck everybody. O by the way where was our Community Board when these islands were first proposed? Didn’t we just have elections?
I’m glad to see that Councilman Lander is finally getting involved on behalf of the community.
Tinkering with the minor details of this project is useless. The pedestrian islands obstruct the center of the street, which is used by emergency vehicles as a passing lane.
The City’s website–“Safe Streets for Seniors”– says that they built these islands, because there were two non-fatal accidents between the years 2001-2006.
That sounds like a lame excuse for a hidden agenda.
There will be much more than 2 tragedies, if the ambulances can’t get through the street in a timely manner. In fact, people who are suffering a stroke or a heart attack may die because of the delay of precious minutes. So, where is the concern for “Seniors?”
Let the City remove the above-ground-level islands, and replace them with yellow-striped painted safety zones, which do not obstruct emergency traffic.
Let the City cut into the 25-foot-deep sidewalks, and create angled parking, like they have at the Emergency Room of Maimonides Hospital. This would leave room for trucks to load and unload behind the parked cars, and create more parking spaces.
The unused bus stop, which occupies half the length of the block, can also be used for parking.
So,
1.Removing the obstructing pedestrian islands,
2.Replacing them with yellow-striped safety zones, and
3.Creating angled parking on the wide sidewalks would make everyone happy, Hatzoloh, Maimonides, storekeepers, pedestrians, and drivers alike.
As idiotic as all of these traffic islands are, Borough Commissioner Joseph Palmieri, can not stop them since they are being installed at the whim of DOT Commissioner Sadik Khan. They certainly impede emergency vehicles, but of course DOT ignored the voices of concerned community members. Some of them even impede school bus turns. Let Bloomberg know of this DOT CREATED DANGER!